John Reid tests his powder on Territorial Army funding cuts

Former Home Secretary, John Reid, has kept his powder dry since leaving the government but he is testing it right now.

The government doesn’t want to get the wrong side of him on its cuts in the Territorial Army training. Yesterday in the Commons the old bruiser signalled his unhappiness with uncharacteristic delicacy (column 26).

But the government got the message. The clock is ticking towards a three-line whipped vote tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7pm on a Conservative motion attacking the TA training cuts. 

John Reid would be the best-known name amongst a number of Labour former ministers and defence experts currently thinking of abstaining.

The government is chatting to Dr Reid – one person close to the conversations tells me they expect that “there will be movement” beyond the £2.5m shaving off the cuts announced yesterday.

General Richards, the head of the army, is said to be digging in his heels a bit on a plan which he originated – he believes recruitment has improved in the regular army (as it often does in a recession) and he can staff more frontline positions now than in the past when the TA was called on to contribute more (with the exception of certain skilled areas like the medicine).

John Reid is the main but not only focus of the government lobbying.

It was an Opposition Day vote that sank the government on the Gurkhas’ right to settle in the UK and though the rebel numbers don’t look as threatening on this vote there are quite a few Labour marginals with TA bases and one former minister pointed out that TA folk are exactly the kind of active citizens who know how to make their concerns heard.

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– Related: Spending promises from Brown