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Britain’s Defense Secretary is telling the country to get ready for war, and he has put a date on it.
Defense Secretary Wes Streeting wrote in the Telegraph on October 24 that his “defining priority” is to make sure that Britain is ‘ready to fight and win a war’. “That is the only metric that counts,” he says. He sets out the danger that he sees, which is not of new hostility towards Britain but of new capability. “Our adversaries’ willingness to harm us is not new. What has changed is their capacity,” he writes. “By 2030 their force strength and war economy could put them in a position to attack. That gives us a little over 1,000 days to complete our mission: to be ready with our allies to fight and win. This Government will make sure it is mission accomplished.”
He writes that the “gravest dangers of the 20th Century are returning, armed with the technologies of the 21st.” Deterrence must come first, he says. “To prevent the worst, we have to prepare for it.” In the first place that means ramping up our capabilities to deter our adversaries from attacking us. And if that fails, then we must make sure that Britain is ready to fight a war. It is a “chilling” message, the Daily Mail says, as Russia increases threats against NATO members.
The warning is not being made in isolation. The “Be Ready” campaign, launched by the government this week, is urging households to store three days’ worth of food and up to nine litres of water, as well as other essentials like blankets, cash, a first-aid kit and a wind-up radio, The Independent reported. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has insisted that the measures are “sensible” and “not about panicking.” GB News reported that Labour has also outlined harsh criminal punishments for anyone who tampers with undersea cables or energy pipelines, and plans to grant telecommunications powers to remove or disable services during a national emergency.
Then there is the issue of money. Streeting says he is “100 per cent confident” that Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey will hit NATO’s target of 3.5% of GDP spent on defense by 2035. Healey resigned as Defense Secretary earlier this year over the lack of cash on offer. But on Wednesday, Healey is due to deliver his first Budget as Chancellor and it is expected that the National Wealth Fund will receive billions, with a chunk of cash set aside for the British Business Bank. Some of that money could be invested in UK defense companies, such as those that produce drones and military technology. The move is intended as a downpayment on his 3% ambition by 2030. However, Healey will not set out a fully funded plan of how he intends to reach the higher target until next year’s spending review. And the Shadow Defense Secretary, James Cartlidge, says that while the Conservatives welcome the extra cash, it must be part of a wider funded plan, with money for training and for stockpiling ammunition.
He describes how under Labour defense spending is increasing at its fastest rate since the end of the Cold War. He accuses the Conservatives of leaving the country with the smallest army since the Napoleonic Wars. Every single recruitment target has been missed, he says, and there is very low morale within the army. The article from The Telegraph also includes comments from former army chief General Patrick Sanders, who says the world is as dangerous as it was during the Cold War, if not more so.
There is no debate in Westminster about whether or not Britain should be moving to a war footing. Rather, there is argument over how fast it can be paid for. A government which has told the population to stock up with tinned food and plans powers to shut down services in time of emergency is planning for the assumption that war is coming.
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