Whoever wrote the Telegraph piece knows even less than do I and readers of this blog about changes to the fisheries protection squadron. In fact, it's unlikely that any of the five batch 2s coming into commission between now and 2020 will undertake FP duties, at least until new frigates come into commission that can cover the Falklands, Gibraltar, Bahrain and the Caribbean.
That didn't stop the intern journo who probably penned the piece repeating Williamson's porkies;
"The Royal Navy has a proud tradition of protecting the UK’s coastline and keeping a close eye on our fishing waters. With these state-of-the-art, vastly capable ships we stand ready to protect our fisheries once Britain leaves the EU."What's needed is a commitment to maintain the Batch 1s as the heart of the FP squadron - those in the know advise that these vessels have at least another 15 years of sea life, and are only destined for the scrapyard because the Navy can't afford to crew them.
We only flagged on Saturday that this was likely to happen - force multiplication doesn't mean that HMS Forth can be both berthed in Port Stanley and on patrol in the North Sea at the same time, whatever they've told Buzz.
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| HMS Tyne - a batch 1 OPV good for another 15 years |
13 comments:
So since anyone can enter this country and any vessel, apart from a British one can remove as much fish as it wants from our water...
...These little boaty fellers are there to stop people leaving.
Might as well cancel them, since we aren't leaving the EU anyway from what I can see.
The child currently masquerading as Defence Secretary was appointed for political reasons. He probably knows less than you, Raedwald, about defence and a great many other subjects.
A Defence Secretary who told the Russian President to "shut up and go away" like a silly, petulant teenager, lost any credibility he may have had.
The idea that he's being lined up as a future possible Party Leader/Prime Minister makes me cringe.
"Presumably there are defence stories so soiled in mendacity that even Con Coughlin won't touch." - are you sure? Maybe he was just having a day off :-)
I'm sure UK border force would welcome the additional capability of one or more Batch 1s instead of the poxy patrol boats they have at the moment.
DeeDee99 said @ 07:37
'A Defence Secretary who told the Russian President to "shut up and go away" like a silly, petulant teenager, lost any credibility he may have had.'
Beggars belief, and a Foreign Secretary who agreed that Putin will use the 2018 World Cup in the same way Hitler used the 1936 Olympic Games. Even those who don't like Putin will agree he's a private man who does what he has to do in front of the camera then disappears.
I attended the Spithead Review at Hyde in 1977 when we still had the third largest navy in the world - rather different from the one my Dad attended in 1937 when we had over a thousand ships. I think we've got about 20 now.
Steve
Back to the identity politics, then. Being "A sea-faring nation" - always was key to our national identity, as I understood it. Our relationship with ships and the surrounding oceans was part of our national spirit: it had brought us to GB; it kept us free; it kept us moving outward; and it help keep us related to our own who'd already moved.
Now the marxist euros have taken it all away; and they're committing genocide on us in our Home.
And we let them.
the bloke williamson is a apas of spas's.
how the fuck did he hold down a job as a whip - what was he gonna do, thump you with his rattle?
To stick him in at defence, just highlights what mother maybot thinks of the defence of the realm and it's a great deal < not very much.
The May clown crew cannot even get their talking points straight, they announced just days ago that the EU could fish in yUK waters until Dec 2020, but nobody believes that deadline can be met by these clowns.
Now the RN issues one of its notorious jingoistic PR releases-"The Royal Navy has a proud tradition of protecting the UK’s coastline and keeping a close eye on our fishing waters. With these state-of-the-art, vastly capable ships we stand ready to protect our fisheries once Britain leaves the EU."
1.the RN does not have "a proud tradition of protecting....fishing waters"
2.As Raedwald and others have pointed out "vastly capable ships" are not really required, especially as RN history of "vastly capable ships" usually end up alongside for long periods being modified for actual use at astronomical cost.
3. "We stand ready" must mean something different in bureau-cratese as there never seems to be enough crew further adding to time alongside.
4. "once yUK leaves the EU"......Ohhh, if only, I seriously doubt that.
Distraction from the lies, the incompetence, and the inflated belief that they are capable now requires ridiculous claims of nerve gas attacks by Russia.
OK, OK. I hang my head in shame (-ish) and confess I have no idea what this "yUK" thing is. Would some kind soul enlighten me? Thanks!
(Since this is about fisheries, I was tempted to write "kind sole" but thought better of it).
formertory, it has evolved over time.
I use it to distinguish the proud but ragged country of approximately 1950 that was UK and no longer exists. Since then through deplorable and careless leadership the country bounced from one disaster to another, all the while ignoring the honest folk who contributed most to the rebuilding of the country in difficult circumstances, whilst enriching the connected and grasping hordes who arrive with no intentions of contributing to the common wealth, that is yUK (pronounced yuck).
It is the country that tolerates rampant welfare fraud, and housing provision to all newcomers while pensioners scrabble to heat their homes, the country that tolerates FGM but punishes free speech, a country that tolerates police forces deciding not to investigate crime. It is a country that tolerates dim-bulbs like Theresa May, Cressida Dick, Amber Rudd, BoJo the clown, Corbyn, camoron and clegg, Chuckles the future king and a million other nannying, posturing "leaders" whose every instinct is to make life worse for honest taxpayers. Whenever I read about the country, my response is revulsion- yuck!
On a personal level it is the country that spitefully froze my mothers pension when she emigrated to Canada to join her family, causing her needless worry. A tiny pension that she had paid into over her working life and deserved, and even though that move saved yUK a small fortune in end-of-life health care. yUK your country is really that cheap.
Your examples may be different, your mileage may vary, there is one constant your country is an awful place.
Thanks for the explanation, Cascadian. I go some considerable way towards agreeing with your view.
Dim bulb politicians aren't just a UK phenomenon though; God knows, we seem to be very good at finding and electing them - but there's evidence of that everywhere. You've got a few over there! Trudeau, Horgan, Notley spring to mind. Then there's the EU and the US.......
The march of socialism seems to be gathering strength by adopting as its own every divisive social issue it can find and pledging to outlaw / permit / make mandatory / raise taxes on it / punish as socialism deems appropriate. And enough people fall for it every time.
Thank you for your comment formertory. I must admit I was expecting to defend each point in detail, whether that means my views are becoming mainstream (gawd-elp-yer) or perhaps more likely, commenters have tuned me out (as I have recommended occasionally) is debatable.
You are correct in noticing that dim-bulb politicians seem to be a world-wide phenomenom, but they seem especially prevalent in the English speaking world, Australia and Canaduh having more than its fair share at present, indeed the list could be easily expanded-google climate Barbie for one egregious example.
Recent graduates from the "everybody gets a trophy" generation seem to be in the ascendant, and their ridiculous demands of gender parity, and their overblown belief that they are "special" has produced a cohort of low information voters and candidates. When they are presented with a "minority" candidate even of dubious accomplishment that flog the well-worn climate-change, wimmin in politics, immigration, immigration, immigration, more taxes will solve whatever problem we face platforms they flock to the candidate like lemmings eg Obama, Turdeau, Gillard. These people have nothing to recommend themselves in the way of competence, and have (or will) all leave their countries in shambles. yUK has been particularly poorly served since probably Bliar, May is but the latest incompetent dim-bulb spouting the usual mantras.
Socialism is indeed the root cause of most of these problems, however the cohort is so foolish that they have now rejected it and are advocating full on communism, even in the USA, unbelievable.
Remember Bliars ejoocayshun, ejoocayshun, ejoocayshun? The former technical colleges cum universities have done their work well, a whole generation of gobby imbeciles have been spawned, who can blurt out the contemporary problems that besets society (apparently caused by the patriarchy) solutions to which can only be resolved by the wimmin and more taxes.
Canaduh, Australia and the USA might survive the idiocy because we have great mineral wealth to draw on for repair, I doubt yUK will be as lucky.
Since we seem to be in what might be termed "in-principle agreement" on all those points, I can pretty much assure you that they're not mainstream; not in my experience, not here, not now, anyway. My own view is that the UK is now just a label attached to a society which has been largely infantilised, overrun by different and oft-undesirable cultures, and grossly mis-managed by its political class to the point of sedition. Or do I mean treason? I don't hate the place; I can't think of many places I'd rather live or (more to the point) that would have me. A couple of Greek islands spring to mind, but that's classic frying pan / fire stuff.
I think the truth is that the conclusions I've reached so far and the way I feel about things is probably where every generation's 60+ right-of-centre (whatever that means now) eventually ends up. Despairing of the succeeding generations, frustrated by the stupidity, selfishness and short-sightedness of others and the sheer corruption of politicians; wondering what's to become of the world my sons will live in in about 2075 when we get the first Muslim majority Parliament and Britain finishes its transformation. It's not even any comfort that the French will probably beat us to it!
Still, every generation finds a way. It's in the nature of being human. But I have concerns that the humans will end up like H G Wells' Eloi and Morlocks.
Bloody hell. That's a miserable start to the day. I must go and walk the dog; at least she agrees with me (or seems to). *And* she thinks I'm a nice guy!
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