10-20-2020, 08:16 PM
Alex Cardigan today spoke to the press in Central London, with Nelson’s Column in the background of all shots, notably. On one side of him was Paddy Ashdown, a former Royal Marine, and on the other side a leading defence expert who the party had been courting through strong military policy over the past year.
The party had assembled a varied press team to come, however also made a point of filling a large part of the room with defence experts who have shown sympathy to the party for their stances over the past years. Cardigan was due to speak before Paddy Ashdown and our expert answered questions.
“The Falkland Islands are British. That is a simple point to me. There is no use for me, either, in coming at this debate from a starting point that is different. They are as British as any other part of the country. Yes, they are unique, distinct, remote, but often - as we see in the Highlands of Scotland, and the deepest corners of Cornwall - those places are where a true understanding of the value of being British comes from. Certainly growing up in remote countryside in Mid Wales, I have learned that myself.
“That means that if - and it is a big if - the £70 billion worth of oil that the Government claim are in British waters materialises in full, it is just that - British. And for me, there is no issue there. What my issue is with is that this is yet another case, another totally preventable case, of foolish, short-termist, foreign policy. I have stuck my neck on the line time and time again about this as leader of my party, and as a backbencher. It is unforgivable to shelve something as important as a defence review time and time again, to repeatedly go back and forth on one’s own policy, and to totally fail to have an overall strategic position abroad. And the people who suffer for this strategic ineptitude, this turnover of ministers, this lack of thinking ahead, well, it is not the politicians in Whitehall. Those who will suffer for this thinking are the boys out there on those ships. And it breaks my heart.
“There is no way that we have a real, fair, grounded-in-reality understanding of Argentine forces right now. There is no way we even have a proper report of our own - after all, since Alan Clark was unceremoniously chucked out for having the courtesy of actually putting his proposals on paper, we’ve seen nothing. We are going on tired information and a tired understanding of the situation. If the Government think this will be just like the victory of 1982, then I must tell them, they may be right. But they may be wrong. And that “may” is one which contains a lot of British lives. To me, proceeding on “may” when we so desperately need a proper review, and so desperately need to take a moment, and, I am afraid to say, spend some real money, on a strategy document for our wider military policy, is a very dangerous thing to do. Yet, when British waters are compromised, what else can a British Government do?
“This Government has had years - literally years - to act like they give one iota about how our country’s armed forces are functioning. They have instead decided to embark on a hand-to-mouth military policy, of crossing bridges when they come to them. I am unequivocal in that I believe we need a full-fledged military response to defend British waters here. I am also unequivocal that this Government has made life as difficult as it possibly could have for our military. I urge them to put some serious money aside, right away, for a proper strategic review, and to do all they can to ease tensions in the short-term. If we must fight, then we must win, and we must minimise our own losses. I suggest at the very least, the Prime Minister immediately gets on the phone to our American and European allies to see what can be done in the way of support, even if that means financial compensation for those who assist us. Why this does not appear to have been done already, at least publicly, is beyond me - this is a nationalist, Peronist, hard-right Government that very few internationally have much respect for.
“What I also propose is that the Government sits down with a wider variety of people when it formulates policy going forward. The Privy Council has a function, as does consultation of experts, but this is verging on a full national crisis, and it needs a full national response. I suggest the creation of a, if you will, “War Cabinet” separate to the actual cabinet, containing leading defence experts, the Prime Minister, key Government ministers, civil servants, and opposition leaders. We need to make up for a lot of lost time on planning and the only way to do that, especially with an election around the corner, is with a level of national unity.
“If war is coming, then we must defend our waters. But we must learn here, and we must make sure we do this exactly correctly. The fact that we have ended up here is the product of bad diplomacy, bad strategy, and a tendency to take our military power for granted. But we can do better. We need to unite here to show the world that we won’t let our waters be invaded - and neither will anyone be able to take them from us.”
Cardigan then allowed the assembled journalists to question him, allowing Paddy Ashdown and their top defence expert to answer for the most part.
The party had assembled a varied press team to come, however also made a point of filling a large part of the room with defence experts who have shown sympathy to the party for their stances over the past years. Cardigan was due to speak before Paddy Ashdown and our expert answered questions.
“The Falkland Islands are British. That is a simple point to me. There is no use for me, either, in coming at this debate from a starting point that is different. They are as British as any other part of the country. Yes, they are unique, distinct, remote, but often - as we see in the Highlands of Scotland, and the deepest corners of Cornwall - those places are where a true understanding of the value of being British comes from. Certainly growing up in remote countryside in Mid Wales, I have learned that myself.
“That means that if - and it is a big if - the £70 billion worth of oil that the Government claim are in British waters materialises in full, it is just that - British. And for me, there is no issue there. What my issue is with is that this is yet another case, another totally preventable case, of foolish, short-termist, foreign policy. I have stuck my neck on the line time and time again about this as leader of my party, and as a backbencher. It is unforgivable to shelve something as important as a defence review time and time again, to repeatedly go back and forth on one’s own policy, and to totally fail to have an overall strategic position abroad. And the people who suffer for this strategic ineptitude, this turnover of ministers, this lack of thinking ahead, well, it is not the politicians in Whitehall. Those who will suffer for this thinking are the boys out there on those ships. And it breaks my heart.
“There is no way that we have a real, fair, grounded-in-reality understanding of Argentine forces right now. There is no way we even have a proper report of our own - after all, since Alan Clark was unceremoniously chucked out for having the courtesy of actually putting his proposals on paper, we’ve seen nothing. We are going on tired information and a tired understanding of the situation. If the Government think this will be just like the victory of 1982, then I must tell them, they may be right. But they may be wrong. And that “may” is one which contains a lot of British lives. To me, proceeding on “may” when we so desperately need a proper review, and so desperately need to take a moment, and, I am afraid to say, spend some real money, on a strategy document for our wider military policy, is a very dangerous thing to do. Yet, when British waters are compromised, what else can a British Government do?
“This Government has had years - literally years - to act like they give one iota about how our country’s armed forces are functioning. They have instead decided to embark on a hand-to-mouth military policy, of crossing bridges when they come to them. I am unequivocal in that I believe we need a full-fledged military response to defend British waters here. I am also unequivocal that this Government has made life as difficult as it possibly could have for our military. I urge them to put some serious money aside, right away, for a proper strategic review, and to do all they can to ease tensions in the short-term. If we must fight, then we must win, and we must minimise our own losses. I suggest at the very least, the Prime Minister immediately gets on the phone to our American and European allies to see what can be done in the way of support, even if that means financial compensation for those who assist us. Why this does not appear to have been done already, at least publicly, is beyond me - this is a nationalist, Peronist, hard-right Government that very few internationally have much respect for.
“What I also propose is that the Government sits down with a wider variety of people when it formulates policy going forward. The Privy Council has a function, as does consultation of experts, but this is verging on a full national crisis, and it needs a full national response. I suggest the creation of a, if you will, “War Cabinet” separate to the actual cabinet, containing leading defence experts, the Prime Minister, key Government ministers, civil servants, and opposition leaders. We need to make up for a lot of lost time on planning and the only way to do that, especially with an election around the corner, is with a level of national unity.
“If war is coming, then we must defend our waters. But we must learn here, and we must make sure we do this exactly correctly. The fact that we have ended up here is the product of bad diplomacy, bad strategy, and a tendency to take our military power for granted. But we can do better. We need to unite here to show the world that we won’t let our waters be invaded - and neither will anyone be able to take them from us.”
Cardigan then allowed the assembled journalists to question him, allowing Paddy Ashdown and their top defence expert to answer for the most part.
Alex Cardigan MP
Deputy Prime Minister (1992-present)
Leader of the Liberal Democrats (1990-present) | MP for Montgomery (1983-present)
Former BBC Broadcaster | Liberal Party | XP: 20 | Issue Champion | Safe Pair of Hands
