Defence spending settlement

We welcome the Defence Secretary's announcement of an additional £4bn per annum for the Defence budget for the next 4 years. Any increase in funding for Defence is clearly a move in the right direction and we congratulate Ben Wallace and his ministerial team on securing this budget boost from HM Treasury at this time. It will be unfortunate, however, if all of this extra investment is soaked up by the new Space Command and by the needs of Cyberwarfare, as there are still serious conventional capability gaps across our Armed Forces, the result of decades of under-resourcing as well as poor procurement decisions. If the United Kingdom is to be a Tier One nation with full-spectrum defence capabilities - the 'Global Britain' that the Prime Minister talks about - then we need to rebuild our currently depleted and underfunded Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force. This will require more than the £4bn boost that Mr Wallace has announced today."

 Andrew Smith, Director, Defence UK 

19th November 2020

PRO patria journal  - volume 2

Volume 2 of our journal Pro Patria has been published. While covering a variety of topics there is perhaps one common underlying theme - the need for the United Kingdom to invest more in our Armed Forces and the folly of cutting the defence budget for short-term political advantage.

I would direct your particular attention to the keynote paper by Sarah Ingham, on the subject of the Armed Forces Covenant and the relationship between the services and the civilian population; and  our special report on the Government's Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. This latter topic is addressed from a series of different perspectives, starting with Tony Edwards' examination of government defence reviews over the last two decades and concluding with Arrigo Velicogna's devastating indictment of successive governments which have followed the path of 'trimming' the defence budget. Our Editor, Andy Smith, has assembled quite an array of contributors and I am sure you will agree there is much here from which our political leaders could learn and benefit.

David Wedgwood
Chairman, Defence UK

defence uk's submission to the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy

Your support for Defence UK is more vital than ever. 

Our only income comes from membership subscriptions and donations.

Click here for details.


MISSION STATEMENT:

“Defence UK is an independent pressure group that campaigns for a strong and well-resourced Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force, to ensure the security of the United Kingdom, her Sovereign Territories, trade and commerce, and to protect her citizens wherever they may be. We also call for a greater commitment by the UK Government to the nation's defence industries, and to non-military services such as the Merchant Navy, Coastguard, Border Control and Homeland Security that are essential to the Defence of the Realm.”
​