Keir Starmer must hear this cry – we have our national priorities all wrong | Politics | News
The defense of this country should be every government’s number one priority, but our Armed Forces are in a dangerously dangerous situation. We have reached crisis point because successive governments have not done enough to ensure that the nation has a well-resourced military capacity to counter any threat in these ever-changing geopolitical times.
It is not only dangerous but utterly absurd that the amount of money we spend paying interest on our national debt dwarfs the UK defense budget by almost double. Debt interest currently stands at £110.4bn, while this year’s defense budget stands at £62.2bn.
And while Labor continues to find more cash to pay off our escalating interest on debt due to exceeding its self-imposed borrowing limits, the Armed Forces are in desperate need of more immediate funding, strategic future investment and politicians who are not afraid to fly the flag in the defense of this nation.
This is in no way a criticism of those currently serving in the army, navy, air force and preparing to fight to defend this homeland. These men and women deserve all our gratitude. But when you can fit the entire full-time British Army personnel into Twickenham Stadium alone, there is something fundamentally wrong.
Former and current senior defense chiefs are now speaking out.
General Sir Richard Barrons, former commander of the joint forces command and a co-author of the recent Strategic Defense Review (SDR), told a conference at the Royal United Services Institute that the Ministry of Defense was “on its knees in some places”. There are also reports that the three heads of the Armed Forces had concerns about communicating the SDR findings and agreed to write to defense secretary John Healey stating that the review could not be carried out on the current defense budget.
Writing a letter of this nature is unprecedented and is a serious indication of how dire the situation is. These military chiefs will emphasize that further cuts in personnel and military equipment will be necessary unless more cash is available.
This kind of salami that is tearing apart our armed forces is unsustainable and jeopardizes the security of our country. The SDR makes clear that we face a more serious and less predictable threat than at any time since the Cold War, with increasing Russian aggression, new nuclear risks and daily cyber attacks.
In identifying these new threats that clearly require a new era for UK Defense, the government says the SDR will make Britain safe, secure at home and strong abroad. These words may sound nice, but they are desperately needed to be backed by additional funding to assuage the fears of our military chiefs.
We know funding commitments are on the way after US President Donald TrumpPressuring NATO members to step up their game.
As a result, the Prime Minister has committed to increasing defense spending to 2.5% of our Gross National Product (GDP) from April 2027 and has a ‘target’ of increasing this to 3% in the next parliament if economic conditions allow. Given Labour’s current disastrous economic history, there is no guarantee this additional funding is in the bag.
It’s hard not to conclude that our national priorities are all wrong. Last week’s budget allocated billions more for welfare spending, which stands at £330bn for the current financial year. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts this figure will rise to £389.4bn in 2029/30.
We have become a society that prioritizes prosperity over defense, and there is a real danger that the past decisions of both Labor and Conservative politicians will come back to haunt us. The geopolitical landscape can change rapidly, as we have seen with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing hostilities we face from China.
Many governments have thrown away reasonable defense spending. Our military commanders are now calling for help, and the prime minister and defense minister must listen to their concerns and act accordingly.
This will put them on a collision course with the more fragile and leftist backbenchers, who will no doubt find the concept of spending more money on the military repugnant, but it is a fight that must be fought and won. A fully equipped and well-funded military should be a necessity, not a luxury, for our country, especially in these uncertain times.
The defense and security of these islands is the fundamental responsibility of every government. Failure to fulfill this basic requirement is a complete dereliction of duty.
