Keir Starmer Declares The UK Is Moving To "War-Fighting Readiness"

Starmer said that "the frontline is here" (Alamy)

4 min read02 June

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the United Kingdom is moving to "war-fighting readiness" as he sets out the government's plans for defence spending.

Speaking in Glasgow on Monday morning, Starmer said that "the frontline is here" and the UK now faces a threat "more serious, more immediate and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War".

The government has increasingly emphasised the threat Russia poses to the rest of Europe after President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The Prime Minister announced today that the UK will build up to 12 attack submarines to keep Britain safe from rapidly increasing threats, at least six new munitions factories and thousands of new long-range weapons.

The 12 submarines will be built as part of the AUKUS programme — a trilateral security partnership between the UK, Australia and the US. Starmer pledged a new submarine every 18 months.

The Prime Minister also confirmed a £15 bn investment for the UK’s sovereign nuclear warhead programme, which the government claims will keep the UK safe for generations to come.

The Strategic Defence Review, led by Labour peer and former NATO Secretary-General George Robertson, will be published in full later today.

Starmer said the review will "bring unity of purpose to the whole of the United Kingdom" and "mobilise the nation in a common cause", adding that "every citizen has a role to play".

Starmer said: "We face war in Europe, new nuclear risks, daily cyber attacks, growing Russian aggression in our waters, menacing our skies, their reckless actions, driving up the cost of living here at home, creating economic pain and hitting working people the hardest."

"The Strategic Defense Review that I'm launching today will bring that unity of purpose to the whole of the United Kingdom, to mobilize the nation in a common cause, recognising in these dangerous times that when it comes to defence of the realm and the defence of everything that we hold dear, nothing works unless we all work together," Starmer added.

The UK currently spends 2.3 per cent of its GDP on defence, but the government announced in February that defence spending would increase to 2.5 per cent by 2027, following pressure from Donald Trump's US administration and MPs.

The rise will be met in part by cutting spending on international aid.

Starmer said at the time that the government would also set a "clear ambition" for defence spending to rise to 3 per cent of GDP in the next Parliament, which may not be until 2034.

The 3 per cent ambition is still short of NATO's ambition for its member nations to spend between 3.5 per cent and 5 per cent of GDP on defence.

However, speaking to the BBC this morning, Starmer said he could not give a date for when the UK will spend 3 per cent on defence.

Pressed on a deadline on BBC's Radio 4 Today programme, Starmer said he would not commit to a precise date, "until I can be sure precisely where the money is coming from, how we can make good on that commitment".

Pressed by journalists in Glasgow this morning, Starmer said he was "100 per cent confident this can be delivered" when questioned on the funding of the plans.

Starmer outlined three changes that he said the government would deliver.

"First, we are moving to war-fighting readiness as the central purpose of our armed forces.

"When we are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, the most effective way to deter them is to be ready, and frankly, to show them that we're ready to deliver peace through strength."

Starmer said the UK will build "a fighting force that is more integrated, more ready, more lethal than ever, backed by a stronger strategic reserve, fully trained and ready to mobilise at any time".

Secondly, Starmer said that "everything we do will add to the strength of NATO", adding that the alliance means Britain "will never fight alone".

Thirdly, he said the UK would also innovate and accelerate innovation "at a wartime pace so we can meet the threats of today and of tomorrow", pledging to be the fastest innovator in NATO.

It comes after the Defence Secretary John Healey last week announced increased spending on artificial intelligence and drones for the battlefield.