Whither defence ? Conservative Party spending priorities still unclear

The Financial Times newspaper ran two items recently, "Boardrooms keep watch on political risks" and "Companies fear Tory axe on contracts". The thrust of these articles seems to be typical mid-term pieces where the opposition party, gaining confidence, is now seeking tentatively to build a platform of credibility in managing government better than the incumbents.

Whilst the Conservatives plan 'big changes' in procurement, sadly the Party remains silent on its intentions regarding appropriate funding of defence. The reforms of procurement in the 1990s have taken substantial time to become embedded in the civil service system - change of process only serves to a) complicate execution of procurement policies or b) divert attention away from particular decisions.

One of the challenges for the Conservatives is that spending on health and education have been ramped up so dramatically under the current Labour administration that there will be little choice other than to make cuts or else be committed to current plans in the manner of the Blair administration's first years.

For defence, which has certainly delivered on what the public has asked of it, there seems to be elements of an unfolding greek tragedy whereby the more defence achieves, the greater the propensity to ask more and resource less - no matter how it is spun politically.

The Conservative Party has the opportunity to declare clarity of policy on resourcing defence and defer review of military commitments until after an election - enabling the Party to focus on their managerial competence without risking a protracted debate over foreign policy.