Keir Starmer vows to make Britain ‘battle-ready’ as he unveils defence spending plans
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/02/keir-starmer-refuses-date-uk-spend-3-gdp-defence
Posted by I_love_running_89
Keir Starmer vows to make Britain ‘battle-ready’ as he unveils defence spending plans
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/02/keir-starmer-refuses-date-uk-spend-3-gdp-defence
Posted by I_love_running_89
30 Comments
Also [a link to Starmer’s speech](https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pms-remarks-on-the-strategic-defence-review-2-june-2025). Except below:
“Nothing works unless we all work together.
From every man and woman serving in uniform,
To the workers building the next generation of subs in Barrow …
From the brilliant workers and apprentices right here in Govan …
Building the new Type 26 frigates – like the two you can see being built behind me today …
To our tech experts, our scientists, our engineers –
Who are pioneering battlefield innovations and cyber defences –
Every part of society …
Every citizen of this country …
Has a role to play.
Because we have to recognise that things have changed.
In the world of today – The front line, if you like, is here.
The threat we now face is more serious, more immediate and more unpredictable…
Than at any time since the Cold War.”
The 48,000 word Strategic Defence Review is going to be a sight for sore eyes, after years of a shrinking Army under the Tories.
Gonna be a hard sell to get young men to go and die for foreign invaders.
We have been notoriously unready for years now. Our army is below its target, our navy has grown ridiculously small (barring the two new aircraft carriers), and the air force has also been rinsed down to essentially just being a fleet of F35s.
I’m not a hawk or anything, but I do think a 3% target is necessary given the climate. It’ll appease Trump somewhat and might shift his attention to the countries which aren’t pulling their own weight, and more importantly it’ll hopefully boost our defence industry, which is one of the best in the world.
You’ve got to be an idiot if you think this is just some sort of ploy for popularity or excuse to raise taxes – we’ve just had the US pull out from NATO and we – along with the rest of Europe – have been relying on them for too long. A shift in global superpower is coming and it won’t come with peace. Between an increasingly isolationist America, a continent bent on pushing into Europe and another on the cusp of economic/military dominance I’d say it’s about time we actually readied ourselves instead of shoving our fingers in our ears and going LALALALALA like many Briton’s do.
In recent polling, more than a third of British people under the age of 40 would refuse to fight for Britain, even if conscripted. They don’t see the point in fighting and dying to protect the interests of rich and powerful British overlords who don’t give a toss about them.
No one is going to lift those new rifles or fire those missiles.
Annoyingly, he hasn’t actually unveiled the plans yet. He went to Govan to give a speech about the defence review. He was interviewed by Nick Robinson about the defence review. They’ve been leaking bits of it for weeks. But the two things that have not happened are:
– Publishing the defence review
– Presenting the defence review to parliament
It’s as if they want the news cycle to have moved on before we actually see what’s in it. I doubt that’s because there’s anything terrible in it. It’s just that Keir won’t have to face an interview where someone can ask him informed questions.
I’ve always wanted to join the military seems now would be the best time ever
We need too unfortunately 😔 it is scary but if they plan to put a ton of money into it to protect this island then so be it.
How about make the fucking emergency services and social services functional. The Police and NHS are on breadline, it’s like watching a ship head to an iceberg and there’s nothing you can do about it. And social care is the same, not enough workers and not enough spaces for people who need the help.
Remember when lots of Labour campaigners/commenters were getting irately angry with people who posted “Keir is a Tory!” r/agedlikemilk
A similar article in the Daily (F)Mail suggests that Starmer doesn’t know how to fund this.
However, if the UK is at risk, then surely the cost is the cost to defend, possibly (existentially), the country.
Also, it’s not as if Putin would try to invade the UK with boots on the ground; it’s more likely to be missile attacks from various platforms, so air defence seems to me to be the priority.
I’m no expert, but this seems logical to me.
The idiot cant even “smash the gangs”, hows he gonna command an army with a real enemy??
Maybe a lot more people would be willing to fight if they knew that even if they risk getting killed if they knew they could be able to afford a home for their family what’s the point in risking your life when you will still be renting when you get back
They are nuclear strategic bombers.
Do you know what happens when a nuclear superpower has its strategic nuclear forces attacked?
All well and good but we need more of everything. Most importantly are boots on the ground, can’t win a war without them. Would love to hear what they plan on doing ahout recruitment and retention across all services. Aside from new accommodation blocks.
A prescient speech? From Keir Starmer?
I guess there’s a first time for everything
Send Kier Starmer and his children first then send the Billionaires and millionaires Children and the children of the Politicians that want war.
Great plan build all these munitions missiles, bullets, tanks and ships. When we wouldn’t last a week into a war where internation trade is slowed or fully stopped. We can barely supply half of our food needs with our own food production systems, our water systems rely on chemicals aquired from overseas. We can’t build anything. Our infrastructure is slowly collapsing. Our enemies don’t even need to attack us they could just wait it out till we kill ourselves off.
But just build a bigger army that’ll protect us.
Man. The world we live in. The human race should strive to move forward, progress, improve and yet we can’t learn to live together.
We’re preparing to war with each other rather than work with each other. It is genuinely depressing.
Problem is you need leadership people want to stand behind and a country worth fighting for… we’ve currently neither.
Well if he keeps giving our sovereignty away like he is there will be nothing left to defend anyway, so yeah it’s quite a plan.
See the Chapter on Homeland Security in Project 2025. The US pullout is just another example of Trump doing what the Heritage Foundation/Atlas Network told him to do as the American Oil Money/Heir Money/Billionaires/Christian right are shitting themselves about the Chinese and they’ve realised they can’t be the worlds Policeman on too many fronts. They are more scared of the Chinese than anyone hence the pullout.
1. How about sorting out illegal immigration and other issues like the NHS first
2. A large chunk of those in military age would refuse to fight, especially for a conflict in another country. I for one would never fight for NATO defending a far away Eastern European country
3. Putin has very much not succeeded in his war aims in Ukraine. He has not captured Kiev and Ukraine is still fighting
A lot of scaremongering here and yes the UK should increase defense spending however a much better idea is to settle for peace with Russia. Yes that takes agreements from both sides but the UK not getting involved in supporting either side would have been much better because Putin wouldn’t even have any aggression towards the UK. It would be even better if the UK left or never joined NATO because it means that less conflicts to join in. Ireland and Switzerland have done better in their national security because they are not supporting Ukraine.
this war is silly and more efforts to make peace needs to happen. There’s no point continuing to press for war when it will only cause more casualties.
What I find suprising is all this recent narrative about being battle ready, Putin going into Lithuania etc etc they can barely hold the two eastern provinces in Ukraine after 3 years against a non NATO country without nukes. There is little to zero chance we see Russia heading further into Europe. Anyone who believes that is online too much.
Wish we had a left wing populist party. Sick of Nato and sick of my tax money going to Ukraine. I’m not dying and throwing my life for Ukraine. We should have a referendum on NATO similar to Brexit.
Who isnt thinking about moving to dubai at this rate 😂
Would rather piss razer blades then serve this country lmao but of course it’ll be Millennials and Gen Z that do all the fighting!
This country simply wouldn’t las a week in any sort of real war. We can’t even afford our operational running costs in peacetime, how on earth would we cope with the cost of a war?
That’s not to mention how fractured society is, the demographic time bomb that is slowly going off right now, the fact that we’re already at 100% of debt to GDP, the fact that we’ve been telling young men that anything masculine, like serving one’s country, is an expression of toxic masculinity, and the insanely large estimated 50,000 British Muslims that are on the terror watchlist.
We are absolutely not ready to fight any sort of serious war, and a nice little speech by Starmer on the need to get ourselves ready for one won’t address any of these issues.
So he’s pledged to spend 3% of GDP on defence every year by 2030.
Well that’s great and all but GDP is falling per capita not rising so that won’t amount to much in future.
But the time we’ve built 10 subs and launched them in 2040 we’ll be out of money.