Opposition Day Motion: Defence

14 charts reveal massive challenges facing UK and NATO defence spending

Defence spending is casting a shadow over Downing Street. Military officers are in a state of despair. The choices facing Sir Keir Starmer are stark. The political calculus for the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has become more complicated than ever as the Iran war puts public finances in danger. Their difficulties go back to February 2025 when US President Donald Trump looked set to impose a Russian-influenced peace plan on Ukraine. Successive presidents had urged Europe to catch up and make a fa

The UK has kicked war preparations down the road. Here's where we're vulnerable

Plans to move Britain's industries and critical infrastructure to a war footing have been delayed, prompting growing questions over whether the UK still retains the ability to defend itself. The UK's Defence Readiness Bill, which would lay out measures to prepare key industries and infrastructure in the event of a conflict, has been delayed until the middle of next year. The bill was expected to be introduced at the start of this year. However, sources told The Times that more preparation was

Plans to put UK industries on war footing 'delayed until next year' despite Iran conflict

Plans to ensure that Britain's industries and critical infrastructure are prepared for war will reportedly be delayed until next year, raising growing questions over the UK's ability to defend itself in an increasingly volatile global landscape. The Defence Readiness Bill, which ministers had said would be introduced this year, is now not expected to feature in the government's forthcoming legislative plans. The Bill, recommended by the strategic defence review, would make sure key industries

Plans to put UK industries on war footing 'delayed by a year' despite Iran conflict

Plans to ensure that Britain's industries and critical infrastructure are prepared for war will reportedly be delayed until next year, raising growing questions over the UK's ability to defend itself in an increasingly volatile global landscape. The Defence Readiness Bill, which ministers had said would be introduced this year, is now not expected to feature in the government's forthcoming legislative plans. The Bill, recommended by the strategic defence review, would make sure key industries

'Trump will leave Nato unless European leaders stop being a**holes'

Sir Keir Starmer and other European leaders cannot risk alienating Donald Trump because the President's threat to leave Nato is "very real", a senior US Navy veteran has warned. Mark Montgomery, a retired vice admiral, believes the continent's armed forces - including the Royal Navy - are too weak to deter Russian attacks without American support. He criticised the US President's treatment of Britain and other allies, but said Europe must realise the huge risks if Trump becomes so angry that h

Iran peace talks hit 'dead end'

Peace talks to end the war in Iran have hit a "dead end", Tehran has said. The Islamic Republic has told third-party countries attempting to mediate negotiations that US demands are "unacceptable", according to The Wall Street Journal. Iranian representatives said they would not meet American officials in Pakistan in the coming days as planned. Islamabad had hosted initial talks to end the Gulf war alongside foreign ministers from Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which were never attended by t

Trump mocked Royal Navy's 'old' warships. But the reality is far different

US President Donald Trump and his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have launched scathing critiques of the UK's naval capabilities, remarks that have undoubtedly resonated in a nation with a storied maritime heritage. While sharp, their observations are not entirely without foundation. The current friction between Washington and London intensified following the outbreak of the Iran war on 28 February, when Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially denied the US military access to British bases. Alt

Is it time to rethink the special relationship?

Since then, President Trump's open and repeated criticism of the UK has continued. He has moved from saying he does not need the Royal Navy, or other allied ships, to help open the Strait of Hormuz, to requesting support, before subsequently dismissing British aircraft carriers as 'toys'. The President has also threatened to walk away, saying what happens in the Gulf doesn't affect the US and others can sort out his mess. He continues to denigrate the sacrifices of the UK and allies in Afghanis

Our Survey: Big support for Badenoch's position at the start of the Iran war and for increased defence spending | Conservative Home

The Prime Minister has consistently characterised Kemi Badenoch's position that the UK should have allowed the US use of our military bases when requested for their strikes on Iran - especially Akrotiri, in Cyprus, Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands (still British, just) and Fareford, in the UK - as "wanting a war". Phrases such as gung-ho, and warmongering have been levelled at the Conservatives, and indeed Reform. It seems patently obvious that Keir Starmer has decided to tack towards holding

Mordaunt: Only death of Brits would get UK to 'wake up' on defence

Former defence secretary Penny Mordaunt has suggested that only the death of serving British soldiers would get the Prime Minister to "wake up" and fund extra defence spending. In an interview with City AM, the senior Tory figure said the current government's spending plans for defence were "out of kilter" with reality given immediate threats posed by the Iran war and other cyber attacks from Chinese state-backed hackers. Spending on defence is slated to hit 3.5 per cent of GDP by 2035 from it

Putin's attack on the UK is getting ever closer

In January I argued that alongside the moral imperative, British support for Ukraine bought us critical time to prepare for a future Russian attack - degrading Russia's military while allowing the West to rearm and prepare. That timeline was never unlimited. Now, events in Iran are beginning to compress it. Three dynamics drive this shift. First, Russia is under less pressure. Second, the West is more constrained. And third, as Western deterrence becomes less credible, Putin is more likely to

Israel to widen invasion of Lebanon

Israel announced it would expand its invasion of southern Lebanon to create a "fundamental change" in the situation on the ground. Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military to increase its "security buffer zone" in Lebanon in order to "thwart the threat of invasion and to keep the anti-tank missile fire away from our border." It was unclear what the expansion would mean in practice. Southern Lebanon has been largely cut off by air strikes on bridges along the Litani River since th

'This one failure from Starmer feels like treason and is making us a joke'

Why is it taking so long to finalise and agree the future needs of our armed forces and find the cash needed to turn those plans into reality? It is a serious dereliction of duty and suggests that the defence of our nation has ceased to be a priority for those that govern us. Ministers had promised to publish the Defence Investment Plan before Christmas, but it now looks like it will not see the light of day until after the local English, Welsh and Scottish elections on May 7. This is simply un

Hegseth: Iran could hit London with a missile

London could be within range of an Iranian missile strike, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has warned, as the Trump administration continues to put pressure on the UK to join the war. He emphasised the threat posed by Tehran at a White House cabinet meeting after two intermediate-range ballistic missiles were fired last Friday at Diego Garcia, a joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean. While the missiles fell short of their intended target, the incident raised alarm about the threat t

Iran could hit London with a missile, Pete Hegseth says

London could be within range of an Iranian missile strike, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has warned, as the Trump administration continues to put pressure on the UK to join the war. He emphasised the threat posed by Tehran at a White House cabinet meeting after two intermediate-range ballistic missiles were fired last Friday at Diego Garcia, a joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean. While the missiles fell short of their intended target, the incident raised alarm about the threat

Trump: 'Churchill would have sacked the lot of them'

The Royal Navy has been forced to borrow a German frigate after 'running out of ships' - as Donald Trump mocked Britain's aircraft carriers as 'toys'. The destroyer HMS Dragon had been due to lead a Nato mission in the North Atlantic before it was redeployed to Cyprus earlier this month in the wake of the Iran conflict. The Navy will now lead the Nato deployment using the German frigate FGS Sachsen. The move came as the US President yesterday took another swipe at Britain's military, saying UK a

All NATO allies have hit the 2% defence spending target for the first time

All NATO members reached the 2% defence spending target in 2025 for the first time, according to the alliance's annual report. The report confirms that Spain reached 2% of GDP in military spending by the end of 2025, although it still remains among the countries with the lowest military expenditure. Other allies that needed more expenditure include Albania, Belgium, Canada, and Portugal. As Mark Rutte stated: "Let me start by commanding Spain, because at the beginning of last year, Spanish def

'Churchill would have sacked them': Trump's says of British government

The Royal Navy has been forced to borrow a German frigate after 'running out of ships' - as Donald Trump mocked Britain's aircraft carriers as 'toys'. The destroyer HMS Dragon had been due to lead a Nato mission in the North Atlantic before it was redeployed to Cyprus earlier this month in the wake of the Iran conflict. The Navy will now lead the Nato deployment using the German frigate FGS Sachsen. The move came as the US President yesterday took another swipe at Britain's military, saying U

Britain falls behind Netherlands in Nato defence spending table

Britain now spends proportionately less on defence than 13 of its Nato allies. New figures released on Thursday revealed that the country had slipped another six places down the Western military alliance's rankings, and now sits behind the Netherlands, Turkey and Sweden. Nato's annual report found that Britain spent 2.33 per cent of its GDP on defence last year, just above Romania, Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Poland spent proportionately the most, at 4.2pc of GDP, while the US spent 3.19 pe

Nato: Starmer's defence spending pledge lagging behind

Sir Keir Starmer's pledge to upgrade the armed forces is facing renewed scrutiny as official Nato figures suggested that spending in defence was lagging ahead of a crucial expenditure target in 2027. Starmer said last year that the government would increase spending on defence to 2.6 per cent of GDP from 2027. But Nato, the transatlantic military alliance of 32 countries including the US and France, said the UK military's spending as a share of GDP in 2025 was just above 2.3 per cent. The all