For decades we have enjoyed a steady improvement in the global security environment. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, nations across the world took their ‘peace dividend’ and defence budgets came down. And best of all, it was a safe bet to reduce the defence budget – it was almost risk free.
Today, that calculation looks very different. The world is more unstable and contested than at any point since the cold war ended. Nations like Iran, North Korea, Russia and China are working more closely together than ever before. All are looking to spread their authoritarian approach; to reshape the world; and to hurt our own security and prosperity.
What can sometimes feel far away, is often closer than we would like. Cyber attacks on institutions like the NHS, poisonings on our streets, energy bills weaponised, intellectual property stolen and copied, and commercial shipping targeted for attacks.
So whilst we are not on the brink of war, with our nation defended by the best armed forces and alliances like NATO, the risk calculation has changed. And the threat has increased. And so too must our defence budget. In that, it is no different to any other insurance policy.
That’s why I was pleased to see the Prime Minister announce, this week, an increase in the UK’s defence budget from 2.32% of GDP, to 2.5% of GDP, which will be reached by 2030. In cold hard pounds and pence, it amounts to more than £75 billion extra over the next 6 years, along with a continuing budget increase of around £20 billion per year after that.
This will allow the Army, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, intelligence agencies and others invest in high tech areas, keeping our advantage over malign states and ensuring that we can continue to keep the peace.
Having taken part in the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme in two of the years I’ve bene in Parliament, I’ve seen how impressive our military is, and how respected they are around the world. We have one of the largest navies in the world, able to operate in every ocean at the same time; an expeditionary force in the Royal Marines that is second to no other; an air force flying the best of Lancashire’s ingenuity in its fast jets; and an Army that is modernising at rapid pace.
Being proud of our armed forces isn’t enough. We must equip them with the best tools, to do the job only they can do – keeping us safe.
