British Army Challenger 2 tanks of the 5th Battalion The Rifles stand on truck trailers for transport after the tanks arrived by ship in Paldiski, Estonia, March 22, 2017.
Shawn Gallup | Getty Images News | getty images
This report is from this week’s UK Exchanges newsletter from CNBC. like what you see? you can subscribe Here.
dispatch
Speeches by 80-year-old politicians, who were last in government more than a quarter of a century ago, rarely make an impact.
This makes a speech made nine days earlier by George Robertson, Defense Secretary in the first administration of former Prime Minister Tony Blair and later the 10th Secretary General of NATO, all the more extraordinary.
Robertson, who had been asked by then-newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer to conduct a “root and branch review of Britain’s armed forces” in July 2024, delivered what the Financial Times described as “a devastating political attack” and what respected defense and security journalist Deborah Haynes called “the most significant intervention on defense spending since the end of the Cold War”.
Robertson, in unusually blunt language, accused Starmer’s government of “corrosive complacency” towards defence. He delivered his strategic defense review to ministers as early as June last year, but said they had not yet provided a 10-year plan to fund it, which he described as “barbarism” by “non-military experts at the Treasury”.
Noting that Britain spends five times more on welfare than it does on defence, Robertson asked: “Are we sure this is the right priority, risking people’s future security while maintaining an increasingly unsustainable welfare bill?”
Former defense secretaries and several former defense chiefs from different political parties praised him. Former British Army chief of staff Richard Dannatt wrote in a letter to The Times: “In 1935, as today, we were spending less than 3% of GDP on defence. We failed to please or stop Hitler.
“In 1939, when war broke out, this figure rose to 19% and in 1940, when we were fighting for our survival, it reached the staggering figure of 46. This is the appalling cost of fighting a war, which could have been avoided by a modest increase in defense spending in the first place,” Dannatt warned.
old arguments
that lack of money — Allegedly £28 billion funding shortfall over the next decade — Not new.
according to world bankDefense spending as a share of GDP fell from 4.1% in 1991, when Britain played a key role in the first Gulf War, to just 1.9% by 2018. It reflects the post-Cold War ‘peace dividend’, austerity following the financial crisis, and the end of the British presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. The government has resolved to increase it Up to 2.6% by 2027 Now from 2.3%.
But there is also a suspicion among defense chiefs, raised by Robertson, that the Treasury does not like handing over money because of various Ministry of Defense (MoD) procurement mishaps.
The most notorious of these is the £6.3 billion spent on the Ajax armored vehicle programme. — Only 165 of the planned 589 have been delivered — But there are many others, including Cost overruns and delays The supply of Astute-class and Dreadnought-class submarines to the Royal Navy and the maintenance costs of its two new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.
Lack of money has, at times, led to fights between the services – notably pitting the Navy against the Army and the Royal Air Force. But few would dispute that this has led to a decline in headcount and a decline in recruitment, retention and morale. — The latter, as identified by the 2024 Kerslake Commission, reflects substandard housing Endured by many service personnel and their families.
In his introduction to the Strategic Defense Review, Starmer wrote: “My first duty as Prime Minister is to keep the British people safe.”
Robertson spoke for many when he argued that, at a time of increasing geopolitical instability, now is the time for his government to provide adequate funding.
– Ian King
need to know
Britain hopes to lure migrants back from the UAE as war challenges Dubai’s appeal. There are approximately 240,000 British residents living in the UAE, and One in eight reportedly abandoned after the conflict began in the Middle East.
America-UK ‘special relationship’ sours ahead of royal visit to Washington Since the start of the Iran war, Trump has singled out London for particular criticism.
Anthropic reveals major UK expansion plans after OpenAI announces first permanent London office. The move follows Britain’s campaign to sue the US company following a dispute with the Pentagon.
– Holi Elite
is coming
22 April: UK inflation data for March
23 April: PMI manufacturing and services data for April
24 April: GfK consumer confidence data for April
