Sentence:  This year's commemorations of the start of World War One are a stark reminder of the sacrifices politicians make with other people's lives – except nowadays they'll do so wearing a Help for Heroes t-shirt (almost entirely covering their <WSD>brass necks</WSD>). When it comes to the hypocritical lauding of the armed forces while simultaneously shafting them, no one does it better than this government. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Gall, shamelessness, cheek.