The Nasty Labour Party - what they really stand for.

trisher have you spent any time in "barracks". The forces become these youngsters family, they look out for each other, they are given opportunities. I think you have a very odd attitude to the very people that keep this country safe, they run into danger when others run away from it. They are not conscripts, they enlist of their own volition.

I am speaking from experience, are you?

You can dress it up any way you like , talk about trades and camadarie and so on. Its a job and you will kill if you are instructed to.

Anniebach "Cannon fodder" is much older than WW1it was first used in the civil war. It indicates troops sent in to draw fire, at high risk of being killed. If you read the reports about the child soldiers recruited at 16 they characteristically take more chances and are used in more risky operations once they are 18. I cannot believe that anyone supports the recruitment of children to serve in the armed forces. A 16 year old who has been well protected is still an adolescent with their brain developing. A 16 year old from a poor background often brings their own traumatic early life with them. They are more vunerable than older recruits.

Seamus Milne £101,855

Kari Murphy (close friend of Len McClusky) £90,704

And others

I am not young, I am not considering joining the services. I do understand the concept of serving and protecting.

To assume otherwise is rude.

I also understand that service personnel are paid and therefore are making an educated choice ( one would hope) about a career path.

Not at all, just telling is like it is.

lemon, yet again you are so very rude.

I never reply to demands Maizie

You never really reply to anything, Annie

However, it wasn't a 'demand', it was a polite request for more information. That's what discussion is all about. Not making dogmatic statements that one's not prepared to explain or expand on.

I noticed that "snippet" on the internet earlier lemon, but I do not think any JC supporters have.

Perhaps we can return to the question the OP posed now, although I can see why some are enjoying the distraction away from JC and his abysmal cronies.
Did anyone see that he is paying Milne and others close to him an absolute fortune, just getting 26% payrise for one of them!

Good job that you are not young and considering joining the services then Oldbatty since you don’t understand the concept of serving and protecting.
trisher you are going off at a tangent talking of ‘child soldiers worldwide’ as we are not talking of children in African hell holes kept high on drugs and handed machetes and guns here, but the British Army of today.
It can be a real escape from a life with little meaning or opportunity for some.As they can be taught a trade, even if they don’t stay in the army beyond a few years, they will come out more independent and resilient than before they went in.
There are plenty of young men from all backgrounds serving in the forces today.

Surely the armed forces is a job.....like being a teacher, a builder or a hairdresser is a job?

I've never understood the " Queen and country " thing.

Cannon fodder is a derogatory term which was popularised in WW1.

Which is the lesser of two evils? Join the armed forces , learn a trade but with the knowledge that military combat could be ahead

Or

Hang around the streets, join gangs, be used by drug dealers and possibly get hooked on drugs .

I have not got idealistic views, I am a parent of a serving soldier!

UK "child soldiers", as you describe are furthering their education, learning trades. Would you rather them hang around street corners, get into gangs or drugs or live on benefits!!!

Military personnel as I posted earlier experience dreadful things, some cope better than others, it has always been so.

Do you suggest we have no army/navy/airforce, because ex military might experience PTSD. Civilians suffer PTSD for many different reasons.

"That's democracy" isnt an answer to why labour voters who should in theory be the ones who are most demanding and critical of their representatives, are treating their MPs more like religious leaders than political reps!

My area has a a Tory MP. His supporters keep him on his toes at his clinics!. No chanting or selfies!

I find recruiting children repugnant as well GG13
These are children. They are not adults.
Your idealistic concept is not supported by the veterans who have written about their experiences or by Child Soldier an organisation campaigning against child soldiers world wide.
Children recruited at 16 are more likely to die in battle when at 18 they are sent into combat. They are more likely to suffer from PTSD, more likely to commit violent acts and find adjustment to civilian life very difficult.
www.child-soldiers.org/dontenlistat16

trisher 16 yr olds are not deployed to war zones, they are taught trades, they further their education, in many circumstances do their degrees, all paid for by the service they have enlisted in. Under 18's need parents signature to enlist.

What I find repugnant is your spin on "recruiting children"

GG13 do you consider a 16 year old from a disadvantaged background is able to adequately consider the full implications of what he or she is signing up for?
Because if they don't they are still cannon fodder. And the phrase has never disrespected ordinary soldiers, it is a criticism of those who recruit and use them for their own ends, then abandon them. People like Tony Blair.

That's interesting lemon any evidence? Or just one of your statements of truth.
Evidence from 2017 that the army was still targeting disadvantaged young people and recruiting 16 year olds. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/09/british-army-is-targeting-working-class-young-people-report-shows
The recruitment of children is totally repugnant.

jura2 as a parent of an AC who is currently serving in the military and has been to numerous war zones I find your "cannon fodder" remark deeply offensive.

It really does set the tone for The Nasty Labour Party!!!

These people fight for their queen and country, have witnessed things that you cannot imagine, please show them some respect.

Only the Great High Lentil is allowed to vote with his principles Annie it would seem!

Being out of step with the Corbynistas seems like the right way to be walking to me.

jura you are so out of touch with the army of today!Calling them ‘cannon fodder’ is plain daft.
Young men from disadvantaged backgrounds, young men from middle class backgrounds and every background you can think of make up the modern army, and they are proud to serve and do the job they do.

Current beliefs of the Labour Party? My beliefs remain the same . So I was right, democracy is like the wind, for some

Yes, it was annie - saw it with my own eyes - as a teacher.