British Armed Forces News and Analysis

Britain’s Armed Forces are not ready to fight a war, according to Defence Secretary John Healey. The military, he said, has been ‘hollowed out’ and ‘underfunded’ by Conservatives to such an extent that it would not be able to deter the enemy if it had to fight today.
Robert Jenrick echoed the sentiments during a speech this morning. He said Defence spending should rise to 3% of GDP, paid for by taking money from the foreign aid budget. The UK, in keeping with many other nations, has essentially become very skilled and ready to conduct military operations,’ he told Politico. ‘What we’ve not been ready to do is to fight. Unless we are ready to fight, we are not in shape to deter.’ The remarks follow a warning from Sir Roland Walker, the head of the Army, that the UK needs to be ready to fight a major war in three years and must double its ability by 2027.
That warning formed the backdrop to Robert Jenrick’s speech on national security this morning. ‘Peace comes through strength, but right now we are displaying vulnerability,’ the Tory leadership hopeful said. ‘Something must change, now.’ Jenrick added that all NATO countries should spend 3 per cent of their gross domestic product on Defence, pledging – once again – to raid the foreign aid budget to pay for it.
Footnote: Perhaps the NZ government should seriously think about raising.