I remember reading an account, written in the 60's of the Afghan war taking place sometime in the 20's or 30's. The RAF was using WW1 era biplanes to lob a few bombs over the side at the locals, but what it made clear was the the RAF was struggling to keep anything in the air. It wasn't just ordnance, even things like tyres for the aircraft wheels were in short supply. So not long after the first big bash, politicians were spending money elsewhere.
It got better at the start of the cold war, but then politicians lost the will to retain UK advantages, and the TSR2 was a classic political failure. These days I suppose that the service shouting loudest gets an advantage, but this country has too many takers and not enough givers. The wealthy want to live here but don't want to pay the right share in taxes. I spent most of my working life chasing avoiders and evaders, and the worst are the very wealthy and well known celebrities. The right tax would shore up all our costs, not just defence, but the loss of engineering ability and manufacturing, over the last 50 years is a disgrace.
