Britannia Radio

News Release Defence: The First Priority for a Conservative Government? Prof. Richard Holmes CBE, Patrick Mercer OBE MP, Andrew Roberts, Dr. Irwin Stelzer and Col. Bob Stewart DSO are among the speakers lined up for a major UKNDA event at next week’s Conservative Party Conference in Manchester. With the Conservatives looking set to form the next government, the UKNDA team will be targeting the Manchester conference with the message that defence funding should be threat-driven not budget-driven. The UKNDA’s main conference event takes place at the Exchange Auditorium, Manchester Central, on Monday October 5, at 12.30pm, with historians Richard Holmes and Andrew Roberts, economist Irwin Stelzer, defence industrialist Tony Edwards (author of A Decision the Next Prime Minister Must Make), former UN commander in Bosnia, Col. Bob Stewart, and former RAF Defence Director, Air Cmdre. Andrew Lambert. Tony Edwards and Col. Bob Stewart will also speak on behalf of the UKNDA, alongside Shadow Defence Minister Gerald Howarth MP, at a fringe-meeting organised by Conservative Way Forward on the same day. From October 5-6, UKNDA’s “Support our Armed Forces” stall will be in the “Freedom Zone” at the Bridgewater Hall opposite the main conference centre. -Ends Press contact: Andy Smith, 07737 271676, Email pro@uknda.org United Kingdom National Defence Association (UKNDA), PO Box 819, Portsmouth PO1 9FF. Tel 02392 831728. Email secretary@uknda.org Website www.uknda.org