Lincolnshire Tory says we can't afford Libya mission
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In recent times, we've tended to focus on the human cost of wars.
Now, there's an increasing focus on the financial price of the military operation in Libya.
Lincolnshire's air bases have played their part in a number of conflicts over the years and the current mission in Libya is no exception.
In the past few days Typhoon jets from RAF Coningsby have been policing the no-fly zone, from a base in southern Italy.
And Sentry surveillance aircraft from RAF Waddington have also been supporting the coalition operation.
But from the heart of so-called "RAF county" comes a dissenting voice.
Conservative councillor Chris Underwood-Frost is a former Grenadier Guard who is breaking rank with his own government.
He's questioned the estimated £2m a day cost of the Libya operation at a time when many public sector workers are losing their jobs.
Councillor Underwood points to a package of austerity measures announced recently by Lincolnshire County Council, which add up to £125m. He claims that equates to policing the no-fly zone for two months.
However, a sharply contrasting view comes from Samir Elmrghni - a PhD student at the University of Lincoln - who comes from the rebel-held city of Benghazi.
Samir tells this week's Politics Show in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire that British taxpayers should support the UN-backed mission as it has prevented the slaughter of civilians on a huge scale.
In the week of the budget, the Chancellor told MPs the conflict in Libya would cost tens of millions of pounds, not hundreds of millions.
But some are convinced that now is the wrong time to be reaching for the skies.
I'm Tim Iredale, the BBC's Political Editor in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and presenter of the regional Politics Show. This is strictly a "no-spin" zone where the political viewpoint is more Humber Bridge than Westminster Bridge. Your comments and observations are more than welcome. 
Comment number 1.
At 15:45 26th Mar 2011, PaxWax wrote:Its interesting that 21 hours after this blog has been published nobody has bothered to post a comment. Its on a very topical subject, raises a valid point and is worthy of debate but no posts. The BBC Editors should ask themselves why this is the case.
The answer I believe is partly that you have interfered , chopped and changed so much with with your blogs that people are losing interest in them. The behaviour of your on line staff in stifling debate through constant medding with HYS and other blogs is a testament to the decline of the BBC. I do not know if it is cost cutting or just towing the establishment line or incompetence.
Mr Underwood-Frost makes a very valid point. But what politician could resist the opportunity to perform on the world stage early in his premiership when so many things are going wrong in domestic policy. This is more about political expediency than supporting the oppressed in Libya. Its about diverting public attention away from the cuts, keeping unwelcome stories off the front page and so on.
The BBC would rather promote discussion of Libya than the fact that we are paying the salary of a Deputy Prime Minister who cannot even be bothered to read the key measures coming from his government's budget statement when they invalidate another of his election promises and further impoverish pensioners. Libya and marginal sums being spent from the contingency fund is after all so much more important than the billions being cut from public services and this is the other reason that people are not responding to Mr Iredale's blog.
I look forward to Mr Underwood-Frost campaigning on this issue during the local elections.
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Comment number 2.
At 00:52 28th Mar 2011, owersby wrote:Perhaps its because people are so bored with the BBCs desperate attempts to find an angle to attack the government that everyone has stopped listening.
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