The objective of this petition is to inform the Tory-Liberal government of the large numbers of people who are deeply concerned about the decision to scrap HMS Ark Royal and the 80-strong Harrier force as part of the cuts to the UK's Defence budget, and to assist in bringing about a reversal of this decision.
We believe it is simply insane to leave Britain without a carrier strike capability in an increasingly uncertain world. Not only does this weaken the deterrent against Argentina and her resolve to re-possess the Falklands, but it also encourages that country to believe that we are less interested in defending them. We believe that the loss of carrier operations experience and skills will be much harder to re-forge if the stated objective of leaving Britain without a carrier with strike jets for 10 years is achieved. Our loss of prestige as a nation and the loss of esteem of us by our closest ally, the United States, must also be taken into account.
We also find it extremely difficult to understand why the overseas aid budget has been increased by 37% whilst our nation is, effectively, bankrupt. If there is the will to spend this money, we believe that it should be retained by the nation and used for worthier purposes and suggest that this sum would be more than enough to maintain the Ark Royal and its Harrier force. We implore the UK government to re-think and reverse its absurd and dangerous decision.