Kendall applauds Clegg's Armed Forces Campaign (Brentwood & Ongar Liberal Democrats)

Brentwood & Ongar Liberal Democrats <info@brentwood-ongarlibdems.org.uk>

Kendall applauds Clegg's Armed Forces Campaign

September 2, 2009 5:04 PM

Nick Clegg MP meeting soldiers in Afghanistan

Today, Nick Clegg has launched the 'Don't Short Change Our Troops: Fair Pay for Our Armed Forces' campaign, aimed at getting a fair deal for our troops.

Cllr David Kendall, Parliamentary Spokesman, said:

"I totally agree with Nick that you can't pay "lions with peanuts" and this campaign demands, amongst other things, that our soldiers should expect fair treatment and be valued and respected as individuals.

"As a fundamental part of this policy the Liberal Democrats would put service personnel and their welfare at the heart of defence policy and ensure that no soldier, sailor or airman goes into harm's way on less basic pay than a new recruit to the police or fire service."

Launching the policy, Nick Clegg said:

"Nobody can put a price on the sacrifices our troops make on our behalf, but it's clear to everyone that pay levels are shamefully low for the lower ranks. We can't continue to reward the bravery of lions with peanuts.

"We need to take action now to restore the military covenant between the Armed Forces and the people.

"There is widespread dissatisfaction over pay among the lower ranks. This has a dreadful impact on morale and retention. We will find the money to pay for this from inside the MoD. It's ridiculous that we have one civilian for every man or woman in uniform, and almost 1000 people working in communications alone."

Major reform is necessary to reduce costs within the department. Those savings should go to where they are really necessary, to the people prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice."