Discussions of this type are usually about how to slow down the contraction of the British armed forces after 1945 by making piecemeal cuts to the cuts.
However, what if spending on the armed forces was cut just as much between 1945 and 1980, but at a faster rate. The money saved is spent on improving the British economy so that it is stronger and the cuts after 1980 can be less deep than they were IOTL.
My candidates are the Sandystorm (1957 Defence Review) and the Mason Defence Review of the middle 1970s. The 1957 cuts of OTL would be brought forward and combined with the cuts undertaken in the 1954, the so called Radical Review. The middle 1970s defence cuts of OTL would be brought forward to the second half of the 1960s and combined with the cuts made by Dennis Healey.
That would also give longer periods of stability between defence reviews, so the armed forces don't have another round of defence cuts forced on them just as they had completed the restructuring required by the previous one. ITTL the gap between the Sandystorm and "Healeystorm" is increased from 9 years to 12 years. Combining the Mason defence cuts of the middle 1970s with the Healey cuts of the late 1960s produces a decade of stability for the armed forces, which is broken by the Knott defence review of 1981.
But because Britain is a richer country in 1981 ITTL the Knott defence cuts would be less severe.
However, what if spending on the armed forces was cut just as much between 1945 and 1980, but at a faster rate. The money saved is spent on improving the British economy so that it is stronger and the cuts after 1980 can be less deep than they were IOTL.
My candidates are the Sandystorm (1957 Defence Review) and the Mason Defence Review of the middle 1970s. The 1957 cuts of OTL would be brought forward and combined with the cuts undertaken in the 1954, the so called Radical Review. The middle 1970s defence cuts of OTL would be brought forward to the second half of the 1960s and combined with the cuts made by Dennis Healey.
That would also give longer periods of stability between defence reviews, so the armed forces don't have another round of defence cuts forced on them just as they had completed the restructuring required by the previous one. ITTL the gap between the Sandystorm and "Healeystorm" is increased from 9 years to 12 years. Combining the Mason defence cuts of the middle 1970s with the Healey cuts of the late 1960s produces a decade of stability for the armed forces, which is broken by the Knott defence review of 1981.
But because Britain is a richer country in 1981 ITTL the Knott defence cuts would be less severe.