ANY hope that a chancellor of the exche-quer who is a former defence secretary might have taken a sympathetic view of the plight of Britain's squeezed armed forces was dashed by the budget on November 22nd. Voters' alarm about the wheezing condition of the National Health Service persuaded Philip Hammond to provide an extra dollop of cash for health, but there is no equivalent constituency expressing worry at the erosion of the country's defensive capabilities. And despite his stint at the Ministry of Defence in 2011-14, Mr Hammond appears resistant to the sound of shoulder pips squeaking on the other side of Whitehall.
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