The BBC reports "The Ministry of Defence has signed contracts worth £3.2bn to build the UK's biggest ever aircraft carriers. The 280-metre-long HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will be capable of carrying up to 40 aircraft.
The contracts will create or secure 3,000 jobs at Govan, in Glasgow, 1,600 at Rosyth, in Fife, 1,200 in Portsmouth and 400 in Barrow in Furness. The defense secretary said the vessels were needed to launch military strikes and humanitarian operations."
Why are these carriers being built? Is it to defend the UK from a military threat? If so, who is the enemy? It cannot be the Russians. They have the dreaded oil and gas weapon, against which we have no defense. Could it be the Chinese? I doubt it. They are too far away and there are too many of them. Perhaps its our old foes the French.
The reality is that the UK does not face any military threats for the foreseeable future. At least, non that require aircraft carriers to counter.
This order is more about securing the Labour vote in some key constituencies than it is about defending the country. It is just another example of vile political jobbery by the Labour government. Perhaps the carriers should be named HMS Please Vote Labour and HMS Please, Please Vote Labour.
Not only are we pissing away £3.2bn but having these carriers will only encourage future UK governments to get involved in reckless overseas military adventures.
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