The term “hollowed-out” has featured in discussions about the UK’s military capabilities for so long that it has become a kind of truism.
The number of people who think there should be a reassessment on rearmament grows with every passing week.
Yet it seems landmark opportunities to do something about it come and go without a change in direction.
The next chance is later this week when the budget is unveiled by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt. But it appears this opportunity will not be taken on Wednesday.
Mr Hunt previously served as foreign secretary and he is the son of an admiral. So if anyone should have a firm grasp of how dangerous the shifting times have become, it is him. Yet pleas on his mighty office for more funds have been going nowhere.
Officials have said the level of anguish on this matter during internal meetings has been high but the Chancellor is far more steely-eyed about containing government spending than bolstering the armed might of the realm.
This is an election year, so it is natural that thoughts might turn to the opposition Labour party promising a much more robust posture ahead of the vote.
Snapping up the support of the military-minded would certainly be an audacious challenge for left-leaning Labour to throw down. It would have also been unthinkable until the relentless squeeze on defence spending kicked into gear after the Conservative party’s move into No 10 Downing Street in 2010.
Under Labour’s approach, there is a danger of an extended period of 'wait and see'
The question for Labour, though, is whether its own promises on defence are equally hollowed out.
John Healey, the Labour spokesman who could take the role of defence secretary in an incoming government, has become a high-profile figure in Westminster. Events where he is the keynote speaker are sold out or standing room only. I know of two such in the past week alone.
What the audience is keen to hear is the thinking that Labour is bringing to the defence brief. Mr Healey talks of a new era of instability and has set out five priorities to underpin his policies on defence.
One of those is to fulfil the country’s obligation to the Nato alliance and another is to make allies the UK’s strategic strength. These are clever words that expose the importance of Nato, not just for the UK but for all western European nations.
The first question Mr Healey faced in the room at Policy Exchange, where I watched him, was about the money. Former defence secretaries and other leading politicians – many of them Conservatives – listened very carefully to him.
A number were trying to persuade Mr Healey to make a promise for more spending – and it wasn’t for the narrow political reason that the issue could expose the Labour party’s tight messaging on spending in government. It was evident that genuine hunger existed in the room, and across the sympathetic audience, for more defence spending. It was the kind of yearning for leadership that was tangible.
Nato has been boosted immensely in the past week by Sweden’s accession to the group of more than 30 rich nations that form the western alliance.
“Moscow faces being militarily excluded from the Baltic Sea and its air space, while Nato can project force more effectively across Scandinavia and into the High North and Arctic,” was the view of Dr Neil Melvin, a director of the London-based Rusi think tank.
The chief of the UK defence forces, Admiral Tony Radakin, also gave a speech last week. He sketched out what a Russian attack on Nato, which is feared after the invasion of Ukraine, would set in motion. Western troops on the Baltic front line have the backing of 3.5 million Nato personnel in uniform and the alliance air power is three times that of Russia.
London can boast British forces represent a quarter of Nato’s strength at sea and a 10th of its land and air power. With the alliance growing from 30 to 32 nations, it now has a collective gross domestic product 20 times greater than Russia's.
Days before Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual news conference to warn about the nuclear threshold, Adm Radakin had a reminder of his own to stress. “Sitting above all of this is Nato as a nuclear alliance,” he said.
These are grim times, as Mr Healey acknowledged in his talk of a new era. His big reform announcement last week was that the UK would move to an equivalent of the US joint chiefs, empowering Adm Radakin and his successors as Chief of the Defence Staff to lead the military on their own priorities.
A UK Defence Ministry equivalent of a central command at its HQ would provide cleaner lines of decision-making on how resources are spent and squeeze out inefficiencies. Yet under Labour’s approach, there is a danger of an extended period of “wait and see”.
After an election, which could happen as late as November, comes an overhaul of the high command. Only after that will the UK launch a new multi-month Strategic Defence Review. When that is in place, Mr Healey will tackle his own Chancellor for the money to back his plans.
The timeframes suggest a luxury of reform that may not exist.
The trap is that the UK’s defence establishment, across all hues, is superb at admiring its problems from every angle. Not so much at mobilising for the big and necessary investment that lies ahead.
THREE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Second Test, Day 2:
South Africa 335 & 75/1 (22.0 ov)
England 205
South Africa lead by 205 runs with 9 wickets remaining
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
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Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Results
5pm: Warsan Lake – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m; Winner: Dhaw Al Reef, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Al Quadra Lake – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Mrouwah Al Gharbia, Sando Paiva, Abubakar Daud
6pm: Hatta Lake – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Yatroq, George Buckell, Ernst Oertel
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Adries de Vries, Ibrahim Aseel
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship – Listed (PA) Dh180,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Zakher Lake – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Alfareeq, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
