The Military Covenant

I'm pleased to hear that our team in Westminster have forced a debate on the Military Covenant on Wednesday.

The Covenant is an unwritten agreement between our military forces and the nation - a pact that means our service personnel agree to lose certain rights, even make the ultimate sacrifice for the defence of Britain.

In return Britain must take care of our military, and their dependants, ensuring their welfare is taken care of.

The Royal British Legion have declared the Covenant broken, by this Labour Government, and are campaigning for it to be Honoured. Our top Military Chief, Sir Richard Dannatt, has described it as "out of kilter", about as critical (and probably more) any serving Chief of Defence can be about their government.

As Chancellor, Gordon Brown cut the accommodation budget for our military, and it was the previous Conservative administration that are to blame for the inadequate medical care.

The Liberal Democrats believe the time has come for us to have a new military covenant that ensures politicians honour their debt to the armed forces, the plan includes:

• A new Strategic Defence Review that takes account of the new international situation
• An assurance from politicians that the armed forces will not intervene without providing necessary resources, manpower and equipment that ensures our personnel are secure in the commitment
• A parliamentary committee to conduct an annual review of the state of the covenant
• A ring-fenced budget for welfare and accommodation within the Defence Budget
• Improved medical care and counselling for troops returning from service
• Further funding to allow all armed forces accommodation to be assessed at the highest standard

If you want to support the Royal British Legion's campaign, then check out what you can do here.