Rearming the UK: What equipment? and how much?

[TinWing]

Can't read the paywalled article but I would question whether the UK could manage "fairly well" without train operators. Train travel seems like a rather critical part of the transport infrastructure.

It should be fairly easy to make Britain's underground and passenger trains predomoninantly "driverless," especially on grade separated, passenger only lines. Subway motor men haven't truly been necessary for decades and the risks of human error are far greater than any technical challenges.

It also goes without saying that London Underground workers strike with the same regularity as New York City garbage men. Any staffing that could be eliminated in favor of automation is a huge positive.

 

[TinWing]

I did find an un-paywalled version. It's a complaint about families of members of the armed forces having to pay inheritance tax if they die whilst in service. Also a gripe that the state won't fund service families' kids to go to private schools.

Generally speaking, I can't imagine that very many enlisted troops would die in conflicts with substantial estates, aside from government life insurance payouts. Poverty is practically a prerequisite for military service.

Inheritance taxes are generally poor sources of revenue and damage the economic prospects of small and medium sized enterprises. All too often, family owned businesses are sold or liquidated to pay inheritance taxes. The damage is especially profound for agriculture, with Argentina as a perfect example. Beef production on the pampas is often inadequate for even domestic consumption because family owned ranches have to be partially sold off to the pay the inheritance taxes every generation. It's hard to imagine that Argentina exported enough beef to keep Britain fed in both world wars and that the country had a higher standard of living than the UK after WWII.

 

[jsport]

The Cost of Sovereignty? The Future of Britain’s Defense Industrial Base - War on the Rocks

“Broken” and “hollowed out” was then-Labour Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey’s characterization of British defense in the spring of 2024.

warontherocks.com

 

[DWG]

What does the Government have against our Armed Forces?

We could all manage fairly well without train drivers, but we cannot survive without the men and women who fight tirelessly for this country

www.telegraph.co.uk

It's the Torygraph, a more insightful lede might be "what story is the Torygraph manufacturing today to imply the government hates the UK"

For reference, the Inheritance Tax threshhold is £325,000; and effectively double that for couples - the survivor inherits their partner's allowance to combine with theirs. Not many squaddies likely to have over £325,000/£650,000 in their estate.

 

[DWG]

It should be fairly easy to make Britain's underground and passenger trains predomoninantly "driverless," especially on grade separated, passenger only lines. Subway motor men haven't truly been necessary for decades and the risks of human error are far greater than any technical challenges.

Bit difficult to imagine an automated train control system walking through the train to identify why the door wouldn't close - it was me, wedging my wheelchair into the door to prevent departure, because passenger assistance hadn't turned up, it was 12 at night and the train was announcing it was now fast to somewhere an hour up entirely the wrong line. (Plus there was a crowd of drunks volunteering to 'help' me off).

That was a couple of years ago, but I had passenger assistance fail to turn up to get me off a train just this afternoon. Oddly enough that problem never happens when the train crew make certain it arrives.

Even the East and West Coast Main Lines aren't passenger only, not sure if they're entirely grade separated either.

 

[Scott Kenny]

It's the Torygraph, a more insightful lede might be "what story is the Torygraph manufacturing today to imply the government hates the UK"

For reference, the Inheritance Tax threshhold is £325,000; and effectively double that for couples - the survivor inherits their partner's allowance to combine with theirs. Not many squaddies likely to have over £325,000/£650,000 in their estate.

My life insurance payout was about that much ($400k actually). Where does the life insurance payout fall in the UK tax scheme? Is that an inheritance tax issue or is it income to the survivors?

 

[DWG]

My life insurance payout was about that much ($400k actually). Where does the life insurance payout fall in the UK tax scheme? Is that an inheritance tax issue or is it income to the survivors?

I think most people have their life insurance set to pay off their mortgage, so it mostly cancels out. Not sure where it falls in tax issues.

 

[CliSwe]

A huge step in the right direction, would be to simplify the recruiting process. Sack Crapita and transfer the recruiting and retention system back to MoD.

Government announce huge changes to armed forces recruitment

Labour say that over the last ten years, more than one million applied to join the British armed forces but most gave up due to delays.

ukdefencejournal.org.uk

1. Scrapping 100 outdated policies that currently block people from joining the military.
2. Setting new targets for the Forces to reject or make a conditional offer to applicants within 10 days, and to give people a training start date within 30 days.
3. Introducing a direct recruitment route for cyber specialists, particularly targeting top gamers and coders. “If you are a top gamer or coder, your country needs you,” Healey said.

Sounds good