Government May Reclassify UK Broadband as Defence Spending

On the one hand, this is possibly dubious in that things that aren't generally considered to be part of defence will be used to inflate our defence spending numbers without actually spending more than previous (i.e. it's just a PR move)

But on the other hand, this could be immensely useful in telling the NIMBYs to fuck right off. What's that, you're opposing infrastructure improvements, new housing, or wind turbines? Aw, diddums, that's too bad. This is deemed critical for national security, and thus the government can give it approval regardless. Sorry Bernard, sorry Mary, your petition against any change in the area is going nowhere.

2 comments

Oh yes, more of this.
I think having a healthy population is key for defense too, so I'd say NHS spending is also defense spending and should get a slice of that pie
On the one hand, this is possibly dubious in that things that aren't generally considered to be part of defence will be used to inflate our defence spending numbers without actually spending more than previous (i.e. it's just a PR move)
But on the other hand, this could be immensely useful in telling the NIMBYs to fuck right off. What's that, you're opposing infrastructure improvements, new housing, or wind turbines? Aw, diddums, that's too bad. This is deemed critical for national security, and thus the government can give it approval regardless. Sorry Bernard, sorry Mary, your petition against any change in the area is going nowhere.