Health vs Safety

Tuesday brought with it not just a gradual return to warmer temperatures (albeit with rainy showers and plenty of cloud) but two news stories that certainly peaked my interest. The first concerned Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer who was convicted in 2006 for spying for the UK in Russia, and his daughter Yulia being found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury. They had been exposed to an 'unknown substance', with police closing a local Zizzi's and The Bishop's Mill pub in order to conduct investigations.

Sergei Skripal has been living in the UK since 2010 after a spy swap with the Russians

The second caught my eye, as it announced that 'Britain needs to go on a diet'. According to Public Health England, 20% of children aged 10-11 are obese, causing the organisation to put forward plans to cut down portion sizes of products such as takeaways, ready meals and processed meats. The targets set out by PHE declare that calories would be cut by 20% by 2024, which should prevent 35,000 early deaths over 25 years due to this reduction in calories. With 13 different food groups targeted, it's an ambitious, but worthwhile, plan, especially as the NHS already spends £6 billion a year treating cases linked to obesity.

Very tempting, but that won't help with the obesity stats

This got me thinking- should the government put its time and resources into working out if the Russians are up to no good, or step up the campaign of healthy living? Do we take on the Russian menace as healthy beings, armed with kale and extensive knowledge of which kind of training is the best to keep up a healthy living? Or shall we sit back and relax with a Big Mac, content in knowing that Putin isn't going to burst through the door, knock our food out of our hands and declare how the Western days of supremacy have come to an end? To be fair, both sound pretty incredible, so I'm fine with either (although I'm not a fan of Big Macs- the Chicken burgers are better).

Let's start off with the Russians. It's not a ground-breaking discovery to realise that the Russians are pretty intrusive when it comes to global politics. We have had incidents over the last few years of Russian bombers and jets flying extremely close to UK airspace, clearly not trying to antagonise the UK into a random attack or spy on air defences. Reports from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) have stated that Vladimir 'I'm defo not a dictator' Putin ordered a campaign to be conducted against Donald Trump's opponents in order to 'undermine public faith in the US democratic process'. Couple that with open support for Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria (along with intervention through bombings and military advisors) and a determination to stay in the loop over North Korea (as I have mentioned before) and we have ourselves a Russia with fingers in multiple pies. No sexual connotations here.

Maybe a fist as well... I'm sorry

Health has now become an integral part of our lives. There is no doubt I how feel about health in the modern age, whether it's the unfair standards of the perfect body portrayed in the media or how people use resolutions as a cry for attention. Indeed, much like Russian interference, no one is going to win a Nobel Prize for pointing out that pizza is bad for you, and there is a rising rate in obesity. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is an expensive and time consuming process, so the convenience of cheap ready meals and a feast for the whole family being only a phone call away is certainly one that most take advantage of. With the sugar levy (i.e. a tax on sugary drinks) coming into effect next month, the government certainly are making moves. With taxes being introduced for drinks with 5g of sugar per 100ml, and a larger levy for those with 8g of sugar per 100ml, it's a crucial step in tackling obesity.

18p will be taxed for the 5g drinks, and 24p for the 8g drinks, yet this won't impact consumers. This is a tax on producers, and is encouraging them to make their drinks healthier as they would then pay less tax. So, even though Britain will lose money raised from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, the country will profit by consuming healthier fizzy drinks. With plans to spend the tax profits on schemes to encourage physical activity amongst primary school children (with statistics showing that by 2050, over 35% of boys 20% of girls aged 6-10 will be obese), the money is being invested wisely. Good work, Tories, you did something right.

Theresa looks ecstatic

Yet in the scary world of the 21 century, tackling obesity will only do so much to keep Britain afloat, especially if the Russians are apparently able to conduct covert actions to poison former intelligence officers and their families. According to government figures, around £35.3 billion was spent on the country's defence, which rounds up to about £538 per person, and puts the UK 5th in terms of how much every country spends on their defence. Considering that Manchester City have spent £203.3 million on their defence across the 2017/18 season (which is more than Afghanistan, Guatemala and Albania have spent, amongst others, on their country's defence), defence is certainly key for the British Isles.

Top for a reason

Once again, there are no prizes in working out that Britain is an island, and we need to be on our toes when it comes to defending ourselves. We aren't surrounded like Switzerland or Austria, but we still have 19,491 miles of coastline to defend (if High Water Mark is used to measure the coastline). It certainly appears, in some respects, that the Cold War has been on ice since the fall of the Soviet Union on 26 December 1991, and Putin is starting to defrost it. All the talk of interfering in elections and dabbling in the Middle East are enough to cause the brows of NATO to glisten with sweat. After playing 'The Great Game' with Britain over the Middle East in the 19th century, and an invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 (not to mention supporting the brief United Arab Republic of 1958-1961), it is clear that once again Russia have their eyes on the Middle East.

Yes, yes, it all appears dire, so we should invest more in defence, right? Yes... and no. You see, despite the threat posed by Putin and the Russian Federation, our own well being is still integral. However much we want to shore up our defences and make sure no pesky spies are scrolling through our search history, that's not going to matter if we all start dropping dead due to poor health. A lot does come down to motivating yourself to be healthier, but the government are making it clear that things need to change in terms of the health of the average Britain. The statistics on child obesity are not ones to be optimistic about, and it is admirable that the money raised from the Sugar Levy will be put into youth sport development, but that comes down to personal drive. We just had a Winter Olympics- go out there and be inspired!

And this guy, who somehow keeps winning Sports Personality of the Year

So what should the government do? For me, this is one hell of a tough choice. I know that the poisoning of this former double agent doesn't mean that the Russian bear is about to take a swipe at our island home, but if the Russian government has successfully carried out an assassination on a man protected by the British government on British soil then we must pump the money into stopping this from happening again. Indeed, the exile we brought upon ourselves through Brexit hasn't made us the poster boys of Europe, and the continent may not really be keen to increase Europe-wide defence, especially if it covers the 'EU hating' British populace. As I mentioned a few weeks ago when droning on about Brexit, the last thing the government needs right now is Russian espionage killing off citizens.

As someone who claims to be an historian, I know how scary the threat of Russia can be. For a nation to unleash such fire and fury against the Nazi war machine and then proceed to play the deadly game of chess with the United States that was the Cold War certainly shows that the USSR weren't fooling around. But then again, I am someone who takes health very seriously. In around two months time, I will be walking 100km from London to Brighton- when I was 18, I would refuse to walk 100m! If you've been reading long enough, then this isn't a great surprise. Once again, no prizes for you.

Having sat in a hospital bed and have nurses potter around checking my heart rate and breathing patterns, I know how serious the issue of obesity is. When you have that horrible lingering feeling that death might actually not be as far away as you would like to think, then that doesn't really sit well in the mind of an 18 year old. When I read through the statistics on child obesity and see how drastic it will rise over the next few decades, then I am adamant that the government need to do everything it can to give the next generation a bright future. They may be little shits most of the time, but they're all we've got.

Two of the most infamous teenagers of all time

We will all have our own opinions on whether defence or health is more important, but defence will win the day. I know this because, when checking the BBC News website on Wednesday, the front page was littered with stories on the critical condition of both Sergei and Yulia Skripal. Indeed, on the front pages of print newspapers, headlines boasted of how Boris Johnson was threatening a boycott of the 2018 World Cup in Russia over the summer. Although these threats are hollow, it still grabs the attention of consumers. The same goes for the large amount of stories covering the Salisbury incident on BBC News; it's called 'Social Media Optimisation', and filling the site with articles on what has happened over the last few days will generate more traffic. It's a pretty basic strategy, but it's extremely efficient.

In turn, this shoved their report on the need for Britain to go on a diet to the darkest depths of BBC News. Articles on a potential rise in the red squirrel population due to pine martens hunting grey squirrels took prominence over the failing health of the nation. I do love red squirrels and pine martens, but I would take a clean bill of health any day of the week. Perhaps the real question we should be asking ourselves is that when we go to bed at night, would we rather live in fear of elusive Russians or a sudden heart attack? Or maybe I'm asking the wrong questions. I mean, are pine martens the heroes Britain deserves, but the one the ones it needs right now? I leave that up to you.

All hail the mighty pine marten

Ben G 😁 xo

P.S. As I mentioned, I'm going to do a pretty big walk in the next month or two, so donations would be really nice! It's for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Link is right here

P.P.S. Guess who turns 23 next week... I'm going to be even older and grumpier. Oh boy