RAF veteran, Senior Cop, former Royal British Legion County President. Interested in: news, politics, aviation, military, policing, veterans issues.
UK
Joined November 2008
- Tweets29.9K
- Following1.4K
- Followers2.5K
- Likes244
Mike Alderson FRSA retweeted
There is not a single mention in the Budget of the government's new three-year "Be Ready" campaign to strengthen national resilience in the face of mounting threats (from severe weather to war).
This feels like an oversight⬇️
assets.publishing.service.go…
Mike Alderson FRSA retweeted
Hundreds of NHS websites offline after provider goes into administration 'without warning'
itv.com/news/2026-10-28/hund…
Mike Alderson FRSA retweeted
🚨While it is significant that the Chancellor has committed to increasing UK defence spending faster - don’t get too excited.
The actual details on how the rise to 3% of GDP will be funded won’t be clear until the spending review at some point next year, which means more limbo, uncertainty and lost time.
Also, promises of jam tomorrow will do little to relieve the considerable financial pressures on the military today.
John Healey knows about that first hand - or at least his Army reservist son (with no bullets for training) does.
In fact, in the small print of the budget, in a column marked resources - so things like training - funding will be lower than previous estimates over the next two financial years.
The Ministry of Defence says this is because of a technical adjustment to pension contributions across government so it doesn’t mean a drop in day-to-day spending.
But, as mentioned above, that was already in a bad place.
Yes the chancellor says he’s going to plug a £4.7bn hole in a major defence investment plan.
Yet he’s not found extra money to enable the army to reverse a cost-saving decision to reduce training even as the new defence secretary warns the UK needs to be readying for war ⬇️
skynews-defence.noosphere.ap…
Enjoy…
🚨 SUMMARY: The OBR forecasts following John Healey's Budget
- Welfare spending will rise to £431.3bn by 2030/31 - an increase of £97.5bn a year in cash terms
- This includes £209.8bn on pensioner benefits, £110.7bn on Universal Credit, £69.6bn on disability benefits, £13.9bn on Child Benefit and £27.2bn on other welfare
- Inflation will peak at 3.75% in early 2027, up from the earlier prediction of 2%
- UK GDP growth will slow from around 1.25% in 2026 to 1% in 2027, before climbing to 1.6% in 2031
- Average UK unemployment will rise to 5.1% across 2026 and 2027
- The Employment Rights Act will "likely" have a negative economic impact because of reduced flexibility and greater uncertainty for businesses
- The landlord tax increases (property income) could contribute to a long-term rise in private rents and discourage landlords from entering the market
- Real household disposable income per person will be around 0.75% lower in 2030-31 than it expected in March 2026
- Higher earnings and frozen tax thresholds will increase income tax and National Insurance receipts by £9bn in 2026-27 and around £8bn on average in subsequent forecast years compared with March
- Net migration is forecast to fall to 120,000 in the year to mid-2026, then gradually rise to 230,000 by the year to mid-2031
- Nominal weekly earnings growth will slow to around 3.5% in 2026, then average roughly 2.25% a year
- Andy Burnham's first-time buyer scheme could raise house prices by increasing demand without enough new homes being built
Mike Alderson FRSA retweeted
🇬🇧🇵🇱🇫🇮🇳🇱 FOUR NATO ALLIES MOVE TOWARDS JOINT DEFENCE PROCUREMENT
The UK, Poland, Finland and the Netherlands have announced that they will begin formal treaty negotiations to establish the Multilateral Defence Mechanism (MDM), aiming to make it operational in 2027.
The proposed mechanism would:
• Pool demand for weapons, ammunition and military equipment.
• Enable joint procurement and financing.
• Support shared stockpiles and defence supply chains.
• Reduce procurement costs and provide industry with more predictable, long-term demand.
The UK has already earmarked £400 million towards its contribution.
The bigger picture: Instead of European countries placing fragmented orders for similar equipment, the initiative aims to leverage collective purchasing power, strengthen industrial capacity and improve NATO interoperability.
A potentially significant step towards more coordinated European defence procurement.
Mike Alderson FRSA retweeted
Punchy from @TanDhesi, Labour MP and chair of the defence select committee.
He says: “We had hoped to see the Chancellor set out a precise pathway to spending 3% - and eventually 3.5% - of GDP on defence.
“Instead, some of the key decisions on defence spending have lamentably been delayed until next year’s spending review.
“There is a cost to inaction.”
He welcomes funding for the Defence Investment Plan and £10bn for Ukraine.
Mike Alderson FRSA retweeted
Big row potentially brewing on defence…
Tories alleging that Healey - the man of principle who quit over DIP - might actually be *cutting* defence spending
In the next two financial years, the budget for the MOD will be £1bn a year less than Rachel Reeves planned when the DIP was published in June.
The total departmental spending can be calculated from the Budget Red Book pages 145-147. When compared to the DIP settlement, the Tories claim it shows that Labour are cutting £1bn a year from the MOD budget for the next two years.
Why? It appears that they are forecast to spend less than expected on pensions. Rather than the MOD being allowed to reuse this Resource Department Expenditure Limit, the Treasury has kept it
Cartlidge: “This is a complete dereliction of duty from the Chancellor”
Bulgaria's PM blames Romania for provoking Russia
Romania is indirectly to blame for attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea, Bulgarian prime minister Rumen Radev has claimed.
romania-insider.com/society/…
France moves military aircraft to Romania as Black Sea navigation dangers escalate
France has temporarily relocated a maritime patrol aircraft to Romania to help identify navigation dangers and bolster the protection of critical energy infrastructure in the Black Sea, Romania's defence ministry said on Tuesday.
At least eight cargo ships have been hit near the coast of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria in the past three weeks, with some 34 sailors reported dead or missing.
Romanian F-16 fighter jet pilots shot down two of the latest generation of Russian drones over Romanian territorial waters earlier this month, and NATO said it will send more maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems and drones to the Black Sea.
France relocated its Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft to the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Romania on October 18. It will conduct surveillance missions over the western part of the Black Sea until November 6.
bairdmaritime.com/security/f…
Drones hit another container ship off Bulgaria, defence minister says
Sea drones struck a container ship off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast on Wednesday, defence minister Dimitar Stoyanov said, the latest in a string of attacks that have raised fears about the growing scope of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
It was not clear who carried out the attack on a Greek container ship that was sailing under the Liberian flag in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.
A maritime security source with knowledge of the matter said that the crew had been evacuated. Bulgaria’s national radio reported that a tanker was sent to assist the damaged vessel, which was en route from Israel’s port of Haifa to Constanța in Romania.internazionale.it/ultime-not…
Mike Alderson FRSA retweeted
🇪🇪 NEW: ESTONIA STRENGTHENS ITS DEFENCES WITH 600 BUNKERS AND NEW COUNTER-DRONE CAPABILITIES.
Two significant developments in Estonia's defence preparations this week:
Baltic Defence Line:
• Estonia's Supreme Court has cleared the way for the procurement of 600 concrete bunkers along its eastern border.
• Installation is targeted for completion by the end of 2027.
• A contract could be signed as early as March 2027.
Counter-drone capabilities:
• Parliament advances legislation to expand electronic jamming powers.
• Currently, jamming authority is largely tied to specific locations or facilities.
•The proposal would allow authorised responders to counter threats wherever they emerge, including near critical infrastructure.
• Estonia's Defence League would gain additional jamming powers.
Estonia is moving to strengthen both its physical border defences and its ability to respond to emerging drone threats.
Mike Alderson FRSA retweeted
The government will announce within the next two months whether or not it intends to create a state-back cryptocurrency known as the “digital pound”.
Story ⬇️
publictechnology.net/2026/10…
Mike Alderson FRSA retweeted
Less than 4% of the 74,727 rapes recorded in England and Wales in the year to March 2026 had led to a charge by the end of that year, and offences now take an average 862 days to get from report to completed court case; as HMICFRS, the College of Policing and the IOPC investigate a police super-complaint into the “inhumane and untenable” delays, former Met Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett explores why so few cases lead to a charge, why it takes so long, and why policing can’t fix it alone.
policinginsight.com/feature/…
ALT She did everything asked of her
Mike Alderson FRSA retweeted
The UN has appointed Russian diplomat Gleb Desyatnikov as Assistant Secretary-General for Mine Action and Police in its Department of Peace Operations.
The appointment places a Russian official in a senior UN role overseeing mine-action activities and police-related work within peace operations.
Ukraine is the most heavily mined country in the world after the start of the Russian full-scale invasion. Putting a Russian in charge of mine action is...well, it's hard to find a name for it.
According to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal, President Trump's administration has proposed former Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán as a candidate for UN Secretary-General.
The United States is reportedly counting on Russia and China to support the idea.
The Wall Street Journal notes that Washington not only supported the former Hungarian PM’s decision to enter the race but even suggested the idea to him.
According to a preliminary assessment, Orbán could secure eight votes on the UN Security Council "without much difficulty."
To receive an official recommendation, a candidate must secure at least nine votes from the Security Council's 15 members, with none of the five permanent members (the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France) voting against (i.e., exercising their veto power).
Rumors of Orbán's potential candidacy could be part of the ongoing negotiations between the United States, Russia, and China.
Orbán is seen as a compromise candidate, combining loyalty to President Trump with close ties to Moscow and Beijing.
For Moscow, having its own person in the UN's top administrative position could mean pro-Russian influence within the organization's structures. During his time as PM, Orbán repeatedly criticized and blocked EU sanctions packages against Russia and opposed military assistance to Ukraine.
If Orbán becomes UN Secretary-General, Ukraine and Europe could face increased diplomatic pressure, particularly over sanctions and negotiations on Moscow's terms.
The Office of the UN Secretary-General sets the agenda and prepares official reports. It is possible that under Orbán, UN institutions could shift their focus away from documenting Russian war crimes and violations of international law and instead seek to obstruct the establishment of a special international tribunal and efforts to secure reparations from Russia.
Mike Alderson FRSA retweeted
UK Parliament has mentioned Gaza more than the NHS or immigration.
In the Commons, Gaza racked up 9,228 mentions in roughly the first 10 months after the 2024 election — more than immigration/asylum (~5,700) or the NHS (~5,300).
A year on, it is still regularly debated: ceasefire, aid, arms, RAF flights, inquiries.
This is a conflict 2,000 miles away with no British troops on the ground, no UK territory at stake, and no direct threat to Britain.
Domestic problems — waiting lists, housing, borders — keep getting ignored.
From China to the World: Exploring the Promise of the Low-Altitude Economy
As drones, unmanned aircraft and emerging electric flying vehicles reshape the future of transportation, logistics and emergency services, 39 participants from seven countries gathered in Suzhou, China, for a two-week seminar examining how the low-altitude economy can support development in their home countries.
Held from September 10 to 23, 2026, at Suzhou University of Science and Technology, the Seminar on Low-Altitude Economy for Developing Countries brought together participants from Nigeria, Jordan, Egypt, Uganda, Tanzania, Uzbekistan and Suriname, representing Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and South America.
ReadEconomics
The programme combined classroom instruction, case studies, cultural experiences and technical visits to industrial facilities and demonstration sites. Its central focus was how developing countries could learn from China’s experience in building the infrastructure, technologies, regulatory systems and industrial capacity needed to support the growing use of low-altitude airspace.
thisdaylive.com/2026/10/27/f…
Drone Delivery Takes First Flight in Zhejiang's Mountains, 5.3-Kilometer Route Delivers in 10 Minutes
Meituan's first drone delivery route in Zhejiang covers a straight-line distance of about 5.3 kilometers, with a flight time of roughly 10 minutes and total delivery time of about 28 minutes.
Dongshan Village sits in a mountainous area where merchant self-delivery previously required minimum orders of more than 100 yuan (approximately $15) and took one to two hours.
A Meituan drone official said this is the company's first time bringing delivery services to a mountain village in mainland China.
As of the end of September, Meituan's low-altitude logistics had launched in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Dubai, with cumulative orders exceeding 1.1 million.
finance.biggo.com/news/da403…
Mike Alderson FRSA retweeted
The UK averages 159 rainy days a year and ranks fourth in Europe for rainfall volume. The last major reservoir was finished in 1992. Since 2017, the privatised water companies have sold off at least 35 reservoirs and bulk storage sites. The government have now been warned that “Day Zero” – empty reservoirs – could arrive before Christmas.
We are a damp island that somehow managed to privatise the rain, sell off the storage and then act surprised when the taps run dry. The corporations took the infrastructures, paid the dividends and left us with a hosepipe ban and a warning about water rationing at Christmas.
And meanwhile, successive governments let this happen while enabling enormous data centres to guzzle up huge amounts of water and energy
Yet another example of the UK being turned into a corporation asset grab at the public’s expense. This is not just government negligence. It was a choice.
