Labour must end its ‘infighting’ over defence and take two obvious steps to ready Britain for war with Russia, MARK NICOL tells the Daily Mail’s Deep Dive podcast
Britain could fund a dramatic modernization of its armed forces today by reforming a bloated welfare state and ending the “waste” of billions of dollars on equipment such as tanks that our NATO allies in Europe already have in far greater numbers, Defense Editor Mark Nicol has suggested.
Nicol sat down Deep Dive podcast Host Chris Pleasance will discuss the almost year-long delay in Labour’s Defense Investment Plan, which is expected to determine how the government will fund and implement reforms recommended in last year’s Strategic Defense Review.
The Strategic Defense Review called on the government to modernize Britain’s armed forces from the ground up, invest in advanced military capabilities such as drones and artificial intelligence, and put the threat from Russia at the center of all future defense spending.
Nicol said such a wholesale upgrade to the country’s military could cost the Treasury up to £28 billion as an ‘absolute minimum’. Rumors continue to suggest that Rachel Reeves is worth closer to £13.5bn.
Britain could fund a dramatic modernization of its armed forces today by reforming a bloated welfare state and ending the waste of billions of dollars in equipment, Mark Nicol has argued.
The Daily Mail’s Defense Editor partly blamed Labour’s ‘internal strife’ for the failure to produce a funding scheme and accused some in the party of being reluctant to invest in Britain’s armed forces. Nicol argued that any shortcomings could be remedied today by seriously considering Britain’s growing welfare bill.
He said: ‘I am personally disappointed, as are others in defense, at why we are not spending more on defense at the moment. It appears to have been pushed towards the end of the parliamentary cycle.
‘If there was a commitment to reform the welfare state that continues to grow, then you could make a greater commitment to defense today.
‘The threat is real. Putin’s difficulties in Ukraine will only serve to escalate the conflict. It is no coincidence that they intercepted Ukrainian drones and shot them down in Moldova and Romania.
‘This conflict is no longer limited to Ukraine.’
Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned a few days ago that British intelligence assessments had concluded that a Russian attack on a NATO member country could occur as early as 2030.
Beyond welfare reform, Nicol said Britain could better expand its defense budget by moving away from investing in equipment its allies already own.
An example of this is the £6.3 billion spent on the Ministry of Defence’s armored reconnaissance vehicle Ajax.
The Ajax received injury reports from soldiers as recently as last year, nearly a decade after it was expected to enter service. Nicol argued that the whole initiative seemed pointless when Poland alone fielded thousands of armored vehicles.
Nicol said such a wholesale upgrade to the country’s military could cost the Treasury up to £28 billion as an ‘absolute minimum’. Rumors continue to suggest that Rachel Reeves has already made that figure closer to £13.5bn
Beyond welfare reform, Nicol said Britain could better expand its defense budget by moving away from investing in equipment its allies already own.
“One of England’s problems is the problem of status,” Nicol began.
‘NATO’s leading countries are expected to provide the full range of capabilities to the alliance, so Britain needs to continue with tanks, for example.
‘We have very few tanks compared to the Poles, so adding more does not create value for money or even reduce effectiveness.
‘We should leave certain technologies, certain capabilities to other member states.’
Search for Deep Dive wherever you get your podcasts to hear Nicol’s full assessment of Britain’s defense funding crisis and why he believes Britain remains a formidable NATO ally despite the odds.
