The British state is becoming worryingly reliant on its armed forces
Covid-19 has accelerated an existing trend
BRITISH SOLDIERS have few battles to fight. But they have plenty else to do. On October 4th, after hurried training, nearly 200 hit the road, delivering petrol to the country’s parched forecourts. The deployment came soon after others had been sent to Northern Ireland and Scotland—to drive ambulances, work in accident-and-emergency wards and run covid-19 testing facilities—and soon before some were sent to Wales. Within days, squaddies were off to help the struggling Home Office collect information about Afghan refugees.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Call in the troops, again”
Britain October 23rd 2021
- Why the Bank of England is looking unusually hawkish
- The British government belatedly tries to prevent a porcine tragedy
- Britain has ambitious climate-change plans—and two problems
- The government wants pension funds to help with levelling up
- A plan to revive Britain’s rural railways gathers steam
- The British state is becoming worryingly reliant on its armed forces
- The death of Sir David Amess holds lessons for British politics
More from Britain
Britain’s brokers are diversifying and becoming less British
London’s depleted stockmarket is forcing them to change
What a buzzy startup reveals about Britain’s biotech sector
Lots of clever scientists, not enough business nous
Britain’s government lacks a clear Europe policy
It should be more ambitious over getting closer to the EU
The Rachel Reeves theory of growth
The chancellor says it’s her number-one priority. We ask her what that means for Britain