Labour party defence policy since 1945

Reorganising the Infantry: Drivers of Change and What This Tells Us about the State of the Defence Debate Today

“…The Conservative opposition front bench endorsed these sentiments, suggesting the changes were about short-term defence cutbacks and linked to the decision to reduce the size of the navy's surface fleet in July 2004 (Hansard, col. 350, 21 July 2004). This, in effect, directly ties into both the traditional defence declinist arguments (see, for example, Bartlett 1972;Darby 1973;Chalmers 1985;Dockrill 1988;Jackson 1990;Carver 1992;Ovendale 1994;Pickering 1998) and also those who have focused on the impact of defence inflation (see, for example, Greenwood 1976;Edmonds 1986;Hartley 1989). While cuts in army numbers and equipment in general might be construed as supporting this argument, the shift of personnel from the infantry to the more specialised supporting arms is likely to more than compensate for any overall reduction in numbers.…”

The “Limit of What is Tolerable”: British Defence Cuts and the “Special Relationship,” 1974–1976

“…Additionally, American officials perceived the British defence review to have harmed United States interests on several fronts: for example, the decision to reduce the scope of British bases in Cyprus and Malta. 69 The view also emerged that British actions had undermined United States efforts at promoting "burden-sharing." American efforts to negotiate a Mutual and Balanced Force Reduction agreement with the Soviet Union were also deemed to have been dealt a blow.…”

Wilson returns 1974–76

“…The possibility of conflict in Cyprus would only add further burden to sustaining such facilities. 56 Of course, less geopolitical matters were also in the forefront of British policy-makers' concerns. While more mundane, the most immediate problem facing Wilson was how to ensure the safe passage of British holidaymakers on the island.…”