Decision offers little more than derision and further tension at a time when great sacrifices are being made.
The UK government is to increase defence spending by £16 billion on top of an already existing £40 billion budget.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will seek to focus spending on autonomous equipment, artificial intelligence and drones at a time where high unemployment is rife and free school meals are hotly debated.
Further criticism has been directed at the government for not ruling out cuts to foreign aid, which could cause catastrophic difficulties for international projects and third sector organisations that rely on grants. A reduction of the foreign aid budget could also directly impact the lethality of insurgent activity through a withdrawal of education programmes.
The current defence budget currently stands at £41.5 billion and with the additional allocation of funds will rise to £57.5 billion.
Further scrutiny regarding the usage of drone equipment must serve discourse regarding accountability and detachment of operators.
A post-pandemic plan is yet to come to fruition and whether the public will benefit from one is uncertain. This announcement further proves Johnson’s detachment from public life as he yet again misjudges the public’s mood, or does he simply not care? Following years of austerity, Conservative party representatives further prove they live in the penthouse on an island offshore.
Stanisland Magazine 