Yesterday the Team mainly concentrated on the Keston Area during the day – visiting Hast Hill and Keston Common in particular. During the evening we canvassed Barfield Wood Road and were very happy with our results. As I campaigned several people raised the matter of defence policy with me.
The defence of our country is certainly a vital matter and, of course, as an ex infantry officer it is personal too. (The attached photograph shows me with soldiers of my old Regiment, now the Mercian Regiment, at Basra, Iraq in 2007.) Let me be clear where I stand on this crucial issue.
I want us to have a rigorous and comprehensive Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) after the General Election. It must include assumptions which were not obviously present in SDSR 2010; namely resurgent Russian military power and the hugely increased threats from international terrorism. In the House of Commons I have repeated stated that I fully support 2 per cent of GDP being allocated for Defence. But actually this may not be enough with the new threats we face. I have said that too. It was also the view of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee on which I have served throughout my time in Parliament.
On the matter of our Independent Nuclear Deterrent my views are unchanged; we must have it and should modernise the system too. Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in 1994 in return for guarantees of its sovereignty from Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom (as well as France and China later). I wonder whether Russian tanks would be cruising through Eastern Ukraine today if that country still had the nuclear weapons it surrendered just over 20 years ago. Perhaps they would not!