We need to give the armed forces whatever they need to finish the job in Afghanistan, and we need enough of an army to defend the country.
But we don't need a nuclear deterrent because it doesn't help us and only legitimises other countries building nuclear weapons. We need to show that we are serious about nuclear disarmament rather than spending billions making new weapons.
The problem with our armed forces is that they are not used for defending our country, just meddling in other countries' affairs and making the problems in those countries worse rather than better. Wars kill people, and they kill a lot more civilians than those in either army. I find it much more tragic that an Iraqi civilian dies than a British soldier because it is part of the soldier's job to put his life at risk but the Iraqi civilian is caught up in a war he has not caused. If we need our armed forces purely to defend the country, I believe our defence budget can be significantly cut, but ultimately there are people who are better qualified to make that decision than I am.
Finally, we should only be calling soldiers "Our heroes" if we start recognising all the other heroes in our society - social workers, carers, police, teachers, doctors, nurses. They are all heroes as much as the average soldier, who is in the army because the lifestyle suits the life they want to lead and not because of a sense of duty to the country.
Why do I not think that I'm going to change the government's mind?
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