4/2/2024 2:49:40 PM

Britain must rearm to strengthen NATO and meet threats beyond Russia and terrorism

In January 2024 the head of the British Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, queried whether the world is at a 1938 moment.

 

He is not alone in making such linkages to the past or raising questions about the state of Britain’s armed forces today. Grant Shapps, Britain’s Defence Secretary, echoed his sentiments in a speech shortly afterwards. A month later, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of the Defence Staff, appeared to play down the issue.

Both Sanders and Shapps called for a significant increase in defence spending. Others have called on the British government to bring forward its commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP immediately.

In continental Europe there have been similar calls for an increase in defence spending following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Many European states have responded, and some have even reinstituted some form of conscription.

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