UK National Defence: A Time For Choosing

In an era defined by global uncertainty and unpredictable challenges, the state of Britain’s defence capability is dangerously compromised. A bold reappraisal of future requirements is necessary to prepare the country for the uncertainties we face.

The world today resembles a cracked mirror, with its unpredictable fractures presenting unique threats to our values, way of life, and perhaps existence. Despite scientific and technological progress that has made life more comfortable, paradoxically the world is a more dangerous place than at any time in history. More dangerous even than during the Cold War, when stupendous destructive power was kept in check by a dualist system that no longer exists. The expansion of conflict in Europe, the rise of hegemonic power in the East, and aggressive regional states in between that have harnessed technology to carve out greater influence or settle old scores, all provide existential threats.

Yet, successive governments have been content to sleepwalk towards these threats content and complacent, with national armed forces that lack resilience and essential capabilities. Lacking vision and wisdom to navigate this complex landscape, governments have preferred political compromise and technocratic management of our armed forces over national purpose.

If any of the four interdependent pillars of national power: Diplomatic, Information, Military, and Economic should weaken, crumble, or are undermined, our national edifice begins to teeter towards collapse. In this model, the armed forces are the nation’s backstop, protecting us from foreign armies, insurrection, and unforeseen natural disasters. But you would be forgiven for failing to realise this. Amidst the cacophony of political debates and the constant buzz of social media, the state of our armed forces receives barely a whisper of acknowledgment in the national conversation.

Our military preparedness has moved past the Chamberlain era of appeasement, without regard for the realities of our rapidly changing world. National Defence has been reduced to a mere shop window with no stock, while the world we face demands the resilience of an Amazon warehouse.

Those who view the armed forces as an expensive vanity underestimate the threats posed by global powers like Russia and China, while those who wish to use them as mere tools for disaster relief or refugee assistance misunderstand their purpose. Such views are fundamentally wrong and detrimental to the nation’s values.

Then comes the progressive liberal world with its new culture we are forced to live with each day. As if the threats in front of us were not bad enough, we allow liberal diseases to fester. History will record with the greatest astonishment how this country gave up its freedoms, surrendered the society generations fought for, gave it over so easily to liberal progressive behaviour and causes, because we weren’t prepared to defend our beliefs with the requisite warrior culture. Civilisations die when they become too civilised.

Structurally there is an alarming lack of unity in the national defence effort. The operational, policy and industrial arms of our defence sector do not work in successful unison.

Government regards Defence as a diplomatic instrument, or a sticking plaster for the latest domestic disaster. The civil service wants a vehicle for EU engagement and alignment, while industry takes financial opportunity while it can. Starved from the failure to make long-term equipment commitments, it uses expensive short-term procurement to reap increased profit. In the middle, the armed forces make do with the aging or reducing equipment inventory they are given, one moment turning to meet European conflict, the next attempting to respond to global expeditionary requirements.

This situation needs to be put right, and three broad strands define what are required for the revival of our national defence capability:

We must commit to and build a resilient operational capability, with forces that are organised and prepared to make a leading contribution to NATO and the defence of Europe, while also supporting new Brexit-driven foreign policy and a pivot to the Asia-Pac region. Crucially, this includes better long-term equipment planning to equip our armed forces, with the types and number of platforms to fight and win full-spectrum conflicts.

Industrial sector reforms are required; designed to prioritise equipping and maintaining the technological advantage of our armed services. This means increasing government control, in return for better risk protection, longer term commercial stability, and the ability to attract larger export advantage over competitors. National Defence requirements should be prioritised over share prices.

The country must do a better job of improving the welfare and terms of service for military personnel and veterans. This includes incentivising our personnel to serve longer, and a service which rewards them accordingly with improved terms and conditions, housing, and educational programmes. We should draw inspiration from successful programmes like the U.S. GI Bill, which has not only benefitted that country’s military, but its whole society. We should create a separate ministry for veterans, which prevents those who have answered the call falling between different departments to rest at the fringes of society. Such a ministry would not only be the least we can do, but would play a huge cross-government role in recycling valuable human capital into high-quality service in other societal sectors.

However, this ambitious vision comes with a price tag. Successive governments have been dishonest about the true cost of protecting the nation. Only by increasing defence expenditure to 3% of GDP over the next few years can the structural deficiencies of our national defence be corrected. Expensive, certainly – but no one can say we are safer from conflict and threats than we were at the end of the Cold War, when our defence budget was 4.5% of GDP.

As a country, we should not recklessly commit the nation’s sons and daughters to uncertain conflicts as past governments have done. Instead, we should provide the tools necessary to safeguard our values and way of life. In a world where peace is inseparable from strength, our national resolve to protect our way of life must be clear. Defending our beliefs, our values, and our future is the nation’s highest priority. We neglect that responsibility at our peril.

Frederick Chedham is a retired military officer with command and operational experience across the globe. He is the Defence spokesperson for Reform Party UK.

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