Front Line First
Encyclopedia
Front Line First: The Defence Cost Study was a programme of defence cuts announced on 14 July 1994 by then Defence Secretary
Malcolm Rifkind
. Front Line First was announced four years after Options for Change
, which was a military draw-down as a result of the end of the Cold War
, often described as the "peace dividend
". Critics such as the Labour
defence spokesman Donald Anderson
argued that the cuts were driven by the Treasury, however Rifkind argued that the front line of the armed forces was not affected and it was support staff and assets which were being cut; Rifkind stated that one of the major conclusion of the study was that the "Ministry of Defence and other headquarters at all levels are too large, too top heavy and too bureaucratic."
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
Malcolm Rifkind
Malcolm Rifkind
Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind KCMG QC MP is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for Kensington. He served in various roles as a cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including Secretary of State for Scotland , Defence Secretary and...
. Front Line First was announced four years after Options for Change
Options for Change
Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in 1990, aimed at cutting defence spending following the end of the Cold War....
, which was a military draw-down as a result of the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, often described as the "peace dividend
Peace dividend
The peace dividend is a political slogan popularized by US President George H.W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the early 1990s, purporting to describe the economic benefit of a decrease in defense spending. It is used primarily in discussions relating to the guns versus butter...
". Critics such as the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
defence spokesman Donald Anderson
Donald Anderson, Baron Anderson of Swansea
Donald Anderson, Baron Anderson of Swansea, PC, DL , is a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament for Swansea East from 1966 to 1970 and from 1974 to 2005....
argued that the cuts were driven by the Treasury, however Rifkind argued that the front line of the armed forces was not affected and it was support staff and assets which were being cut; Rifkind stated that one of the major conclusion of the study was that the "Ministry of Defence and other headquarters at all levels are too large, too top heavy and too bureaucratic."
Main changes
- Closure of Rosyth naval baseRosyth DockyardRosyth Dockyard is a large naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, owned by Babcock Marine, which primarily undertakes refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels.-History:...
, retained as a Royal Naval Support Establishment. - Reduction of MOD civil servants by 7% (7,100)
- Reduction of armed forces personnel by 5% (11,600)
- Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
- 7,500 - British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
- 2,200 - Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
- Over 9,000
- Royal Air Force
- These staff reductions included "more than 20 senior military and civilian jobs - that is Major-General level and above."
- Closure of 17 depots.
- Closure of 2 of the 3 military hospitals. Military wings to be set up at NHS hospitals.
- Army, Navy and Air Force headquarters to be merged into a Joint HQ at NorthwoodNorthwood HeadquartersNorthwood Headquarters is a military headquarters facility of the British Armed Forces in Eastbury, Hertfordshire, England, adjacent to the London suburb of Northwood...
. - Base closures:
- RAF ScamptonRAF ScamptonRoyal Air Force Station Scampton is a Royal Air Force station situated north of Lincoln in England, near the village of Scampton, on the site of an old First World War landing field.-First World War:...
- RAF FinningleyRAF FinningleyRAF Finningley is a former Royal Air Force station at Finningley, South Yorkshire, partly within the traditional county boundaries of Nottinghamshire and partly in the West Riding of Yorkshire, now wholly within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster....
- RNAS PortlandRNAS PortlandRNAS Portland was an air station of the Royal Navy from 1917.The site was first built in 1917 as HMS Sarepta within the confines of Portland Harbour as a seaplane base; the aircraft operating from the base's slipways. In 1919 No...
- Royal Marines Music School, Deal, KentDeal, KentDeal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
- RAF LaarbruchRAF LaarbruchThe former Royal Air Force Station Laarbruch, more commonly known as RAF Laarbruch ICAO EDUL was a Royal Air Force station, a military airbase, located in Germany on its border with the Netherlands...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- RAF Scampton
New equipment orders
- Confirmation of order for 259 Challenger IIChallenger IIChallenger II can refer to:*Challenger 2, British main battle tank*Quad City Challenger II, ultralight aircraft...
tanks. - Confirmation of upgrade of 142 Tornado GR1s to GR4 standard.
- Confirmation of order for 7 Sandown class minehunters.
- Intent to spend £300 million on laser guided bombs and laser designatorLaser designatorA laser designator is a laser light source which is used to designate a target. Laser designators provide targeting for laser guided bombs, missiles, or precision artillery munitions, such as the Paveway series of bombs, Lockheed-Martin's Hellfire, or the Copperhead round, respectively.When a...
s. - Intent to order 400,000 rounds of 51mm from British AerospaceBritish AerospaceBritish Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
's Royal OrdnanceRoyal OrdnanceRoyal Ordnance plc was formed on 2 January 1985 as a public corporation, owning the majority of what until then were the remaining United Kingdom government-owned Royal Ordnance Factories which manufactured explosives, ammunition, small arms including the Lee-Enfield rifle, guns and military...
. - A new class of nuclear submarine would be ordered, the Batch 2 Trafalgar class (what would become the Astute class submarineAstute class submarineThe Astute-class is the latest class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy. The class sets a new standard for the Royal Navy in terms of weapons load, communication facilities and stealth. The boats are being constructed by BAE Systems Submarine Solutions at...
s). - A new class of amphibious assault ships would be ordered (what would become the Albion class landing platform dockAlbion class landing platform dockThe Albion class is a class of landing platform dock, and are the newest amphibious assault vessels in the Royal Navy fleet. The class consists of two vessels, and and they were ordered in 1996 under a programme known as LPD to replace the aging Fearless class...
). - Procurement of TomahawkBGM-109 TomahawkThe Tomahawk is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. Introduced by General Dynamics in the 1970s, it was designed as a medium- to long-range, low-altitude missile that could be launched from a surface platform. It has been improved several times and, by way of corporate divestitures...
cruise missileCruise missileA cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
to be studied.
See also
- Options for ChangeOptions for ChangeOptions for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in 1990, aimed at cutting defence spending following the end of the Cold War....
(1990) - Strategic Defence ReviewStrategic Defence ReviewThe Strategic Defence Review was a British policy document produced by the Labour Government that came to power in 1997. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of the new government, with a series of key decisions designed to enhance the United...
(1998) - Delivering Security in a Changing WorldDelivering Security in a Changing WorldThe 2003 Defence White Paper, titled Delivering Security in a Changing World, set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to the immediate challenges to security in the aftermath of the...
(2003)