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Returning Troops Snubbed
Practically none of the British troops returning from Afghanistan or Iraq this autumn will be greeted with homecoming parades organised by their local councils.
The Daily Telegraph discovered that not one of the sixteen authorites it contacted had offered to organise a welcoming parade for the 13,000 servicemen and women expected home between now and the end of November.
Of the sixteen, two were holding parades, but only after being contacted by the Army for assistance.
Gerald Howarth, Shadow Defence Minister and Conservative MP for the Grenadier Guards home base of Aldershot said: "Asking the military to do it is a bit like asking them to organise their own birthday party, it completely misses the point."
The Defence of the Realm blog, written by the EU Referendum Blog team, points to parades which have taken place, and argues that "frankly, unlike the posturing Europeans, that is not the British way. We do not go in for this sort of exhibitionism that is so common on the Continent."
The row follows other criticism of the goverment's treatment of British troops: Yesterday, the goverment announced a small council tax rebate for troops serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
"American troops pay no tax while is war zones abroad, and many other countries provide tax relief for those working overseas", the Telegraph, which campaigned for the reduction, noted.
The Labour government has had a fraught relationship with the armed forces. The streamlining or merging of several historic regiments and battalions, announced in 2004 and currently being brought into effect has been unpopular. Troops have complained of low pay, poor treatment and underfunding, to the extent of having to replace their own boots and equipment.
