Cameron's Defence Cuts and Britain's Place in Europe and the World

Many viewed the lowering of the Union Jack over Hong Kong in 1999 as the formal end of the British Empire. However, although Britain gave up that bastion of imperial pretence at the end of the 20^th century, her global military presence continued into the 21^st. Many defence analysts made the argument that the Blair Government joined the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 with the express purpose of maintaining its image as a power capable of imposing massive might thousands of miles from home soil (45,000 UK troops invaded Iraq). Very few nations actually have that capability. And as of October 19^th, 2010, the United Kingdom is no longer one of them.

The cuts announced have been downplayed by the new ruling coalition government as a symptom of the current economic crisis. The fiscal meltdown was no doubt the catalyst of these cuts; however, the reality of the situation goes far beyond the current economic recession. We may have the finally witnessed the true end of Britain’s global military presence.

A few facets of the cuts warrant further exploration and analysis with regards to the United Kingdom’s place in both the world and the European continent. Of particular import are the removal all UK troops from German soil, the reduction of the Royal Navy to pre-Tudor size (yes folks, this will be the smallest RN since Elizabeth I took to the throne), and large cuts to the mechanized branch of the British Army. Although the total overall cut of 8% across the board may not seem like much to fuss about, it is what is being cut, not how much that is relevant.

The end of the British presence in Germany is long overdue, yet it sends an important signal about which country holds the power in Europe and it certainly is not the United Kingdom. It took a hundred and fifty years, two world wars and half-a-century of Cold War division, but Germany is finally the undisputed master of Europe. The latter two points signal the end of Britain presence on the world scene. Although the RN will continue to maintain a carrier wing, it will probably be reduced to a single vessel, either the forthcoming Queen Elizabeth (2016) or the subsequent Prince of Wales (2018). And for a period between 2014 and 2016, the RN will be carrier-less (something is hasn’t been since the advent of aircraft carriers). As for the British Army, the mechanized backbone, tanks and self-propelled artillery, will be halved, replaced by towed-artillery and wheeled armour. This surely removes any notions of Britain having an army capable of wielding and overseas presence.

In closing, I do not disagree with these cuts. Britain in the 21^st century must become a vastly different animal to compete in the new globalized world and operating a military out of scale with its population and resources does not aid that goal. It is simply and interesting historical observation. It was a long time coming, and a long drawn out death, but the sun has finally set on Britannia.