In the weeks since Sir Keir Starmer was officially appointed Chancellor and vowed to take a tough stance on government spending, there has been no time for sitting around.
As a result, cuts to the winter fuel allowance have been unpopular this week. But I can offer one money-saving measure that is very popular with the public and is likely already on the Chancellor’s wish list.
Labour has already promised to “immediately consider possible alternatives”. [the] “Bearskin” is used for the hats worn by the King’s Guards.
perish
The staggering cost of the purely decorative hat means it is an ideal starting point if Starmer wants to demonstrate that taxpayers’ money is under good management.
The price of bearskin hats purchased by the Ministry of Defence for the Royal Guards has risen by more than 30% in recent years to a staggering £2,040 each.
In fact, the Ministry of Defence has spent over £1 million of taxpayer money on the hats in the past nine years alone, and is due to purchase 24 of them in 2023. But while the cost is shocking, it pales in comparison to the cruelty involved in making the hats.
PETA Video Exposure This year it was revealed that Canadian bears are being lured out of their dens with biscuits and bagels, and sometimes shot with high-powered crossbows.
Many bears are shot multiple times, then run away to die a slow, agonizing death until hunters follow the blood trail and find them, while others are left to die of blood loss, infection, starvation and dehydration, after which they are disemboweled and dismembered.
fur
Killing these sensitive creatures, who like any other animal enjoy play and value family ties, with a crossbow is so cruel that it has been banned in the UK since 1981. Yet the UK government supports this slaughter overseas and encourages hunters by continuing to buy hats made from the fur of these bears.
Fortunately for Starmer, most of the hard work of upgrading the Kings Guard’s hats has already been done.
PETA worked with ECOPLE, a luxury faux fur manufacturer, to develop superior faux bear fur and provided the material to the Department of Defense. For Free For 10 years, they have promised that it will always be cheaper than bear fur.
Additionally, test reports showed that the fake bearskin created by PETA and ECOPLE performed as well as or better than real bearskin in all five areas specified by the Department of Defense for alternative materials.
Alternative
These include being waterproof and drying faster than real fur, which is crucial considering that Buckingham Palace guards have to endure an average of 155 days of rain per year.
As for the appeal to tradition, a Labour leader correctly said recently, with regard to cap regulations, “it is crucial that traditions evolve and adapt if they are to survive”.
Plus, unlike bloody hats, faux fur hats won’t harm bears and Public funding. It’s easy to switch.
The development of fur alternatives is part of a 20-year campaign against the use of fur in hats. ‘Bear’ sent to shadow Starmer When he voted.
Hunger
After 14 years in opposition, Starmer has a big task ahead of him in shaping the Britain he envisions – but replacing the Ministry of Defence’s hideous bearskin headgear with something more upmarket fake fur will be no easy task.
The vast majority of Americans (75%) believe that bearskin hats are a waste of government funds and that better alternatives already exist and are readily available.
Money saved by the switch could be reallocated towards delivering other Labour pledges, such as rebuilding the NHS.
Starmer’s predecessors refused to accept PETA’s offer of free bearskins – hopefully, for the sake of disgusted taxpayers and, above all, for the sake of the starving cubs whose mothers have been shot, the new Prime Minister will not repeat the same mistake.
This author
Elisa Allen is PETA’s vice president of programs and operations.
