Off the Fence - Stephen Morgan

More than most places, we know in Portsmouth the ultimate service is that of our armed forces personnel and veterans.

We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to them and their families for all they have given our country.

As the deeply proud grandson of a D-Day veteran, I know first-hand that theirs is the ultimate public service and their professionalism and bravery is rightly respected across the world.

But unfortunately, under the last government, our armed forces were hollowed out - reduced by almost 40,000 personnel since 2012.

I also frequently hear from serving personnel, veterans and the families about the poor support they have received in recent years.

It’s clear we are now facing a recruitment and retention crisis in our armed forces, and morale has hit a record low.

That’s why I’m so pleased to see the new government taking immediate action to improve service life and support our armed forces.

Already the Labour government has:

• - Awarded service men and women here in our city the largest pay rise for 20 years.
• - Announced a bill to establish an Armed Forces Commissioner, to be a strong independent champion for our serving personnel and the families who support them, and to improve service life.
• - Delivered homes for heroes by giving better access to social housing and scrapping rules that unfairly penalise veterans.
• - Put forward a plan to fast-track bright candidates and cut the needless red tape and delays which are turning great talent away from our forces.
• - Committed to putting the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law ensuring everyone who serves or has served in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated with fairness and respect.

It is the goal of the new government to fix the foundations of our forces, boost our security in the face of evolving, modern-day threats, and make the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran.

Given the hollowing out that we’ve seen in recent years, it will take time to achieve these objectives, but the first steps outlined above are an important start.

In Portsmouth, for years we have been calling for a government to repay the commitment and renew the contract with those who serve, and the families who support them.

I am proud we now have a government delivering the change we have long been calling for.