Supporting our Armed Forces – Labour manifesto

5th December, 2019

🔴During my time as your MP I’ve raised a number of issues on behalf of our armed forces. These include highlighting the need for improved services and recognition for veterans, and supporting the calls for justice for Commonwealth soldiers and the Afghan interpreters who served with UK forces in the fight against the Taliban. If I am re-elected I’ll continue to speak up for serving members of our armed forces and veterans.

Over the last nine years our armed forces have been let down by the Conservatives. Trained army personnel have been cut from 102,000 to 74,000 and armed forces personnel have received below-inflation pay rises for seven years.

🌹I was pleased to see such a strong focus on our armed forces community in the Labour manifesto. Some of our key commitments include:

✅Spending at least 2% of GDP on defence to guarantee that our armed forces are versatile and capable of fulfilling their full range of roles and obligations
✅Improve opportunities for veterans through access to lifelong learning and training
✅Scrap the public sector pay cap which resulted in a real-terms pay cut for armed forces personnel
✅Compensate all surviving British nuclear-test veterans to support them and their families with the health conditions they have suffered as a result of radiation exposure
✅Consult on creating a representative body for the armed forces, akin to the Police Federation.

It’s vital we do all we can to support those who serve our country.

🖱You can read more here: labour.org.uk/manifesto/a-new-internationalism