英国国防部长韦斯·斯特里廷在BBC《问答时间》节目中为“自冷战结束以来国防支出最大持续增长”作辩护。英国工党政府本周公布了新的年度预算计划，令人欣慰的是其中大部分内容对英国本土之外的影响不大。然而，真正重要的是伦敦的国防支出计划，而它并不理想。
A new spending plan highlights the squeeze that welfare spending puts on national security. Speaking on the BBC's 'Question Time,' U.K. Defense Secretary Wes Streeting made the case for 'delivering the biggest sustained increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War.' Britain’s Labour government released a new annual budget plan this week and the good news is that most of it doesn’t matter beyond British shores. What does make a difference, however, is London’s plan for defense spending. And it isn’t great.
财政大臣约翰·希利和首相安迪·伯恩汉姆正面临巨大压力，必须控制公共财政并再次推动经济增长。从这两个角度来看，本周的预算是一次失败。
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey and Prime Minister Andy Burnham are under enormous pressure to get public finances under control and the economy growing again. From both of those perspectives, this week’s budget is a dud.