Britain’s long-delayed defence investment plan is one of the last big announcements from outgoing prime minister Sir Keir Starmer. It exemplifies the inability of his cabinet to face up adequately to the hard choices of government. The plan has been spruced up since the resignation earlier this month of defence secretary John Healey (which helped seal Starmer’s fate); the extra spending over the next four years is upped by £1.5bn to £15bn. Yet Healey’s criticism holds true: the long-delayed plan remains well short of what was required. The presumptive next prime minister, Andy Burnham, will somehow need to find more money.
英国一再拖延的国防投资计划，是即将卸任的首相基尔•斯塔默爵士(Sir Keir Starmer)最后几项重大声明之一，凸显其内阁无力直面执政中的艰难抉择。自本月早些时候国防大臣约翰•希利(John Healey)辞职（这一事件也加速了斯塔默的下台）以来，该计划经过了一番包装调整：未来四年的新增开支在原有基础上又增加了15亿英镑，达到150亿英镑。不过，希利当时的批评依然切中要害：这一姗姗来迟的计划仍远未达到所需水平。被普遍视为下一任首相人选的安迪•伯纳姆(Andy Burnham)，今后将不得不设法再筹集更多资金。