As reported yesterday (and see new PCS circular here) the Tories are to cut MoD costs by 25%, and entirely from the civillian staff. As Tory Shadow Defence Secretary Liam 'Sly Old Fox' Fox puts it, (BBC) when "Frederick Duke of York was preparing for the Napoleonic threat between 1792 and 1804 he increased the size of the Army from 50,000 to nearly 500,000 - and he did it with 38 staff at Horse Guards."That is as may be, but of course, what he fails to realize, being an out of touch Tory Toff is that the clerical, logistical and support functions for the Army were done then by uniformed staff in the regiments... something that has changed in modern times as more and more civillian staff, like us, have taken on roles once the preserve of regimental clerks and quartermasters, such as making the payroll, procuring and delivering supplies, and a myriad of ancillary support and clerical functions. Moreover, civillian staff perform those jobs at a fraction of the cost and across the three services.
Even the Liberals claim they will reduce MoD civillian staff by 10,000!
So what will go? The staff supporting service personnels families? Maybe civillians making sure soldiers are paid on time? Or perhaps those delivering the food and weaponry to the conflicts? Your guess is as good as ours.
What we do know for sure is the cuts will be unwarranted, driven by political dogma and damaging to the economy and the MoD and the services it supports. We also now know for sure a vote for either is to vote to end support for front line military personnel and/or support given to veterans.
