As in most other areas of policy, the new United Kingdom Labour government is promising significant change on the defence and security front. But as it prepares to launch a new defence review, the challenges are great, the options are limited, and the need to make some tough choices may be looming.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given global events, the new Labour government in the United Kingdom is already under pressure to flesh out its plans for defence and security – including spending. In terms of its overall strategy, the significant promised change may be more in the nature of emphasis rather than radical course correction. But that may still be significant and not easy to deliver. The government also has to grapple with urgent capability challenges and clear readiness shortfalls which have been thrown into sharp focus by a rapidly deteriorating strategic backdrop. Here, options are limited, some stark choices may have to be made, and available resources will, as always, be critical.
Challenges and choicesIn many ways, Labour’s diagnosis of the threats and challenges hardly differs from that of its predecessor Conservative administrations. These include an increasingly volatile and contested world, requiring a comprehensive and integrated response, shoring up alliances, rebuilding capabilities (including mass and sustainability) and rapid adaptation enabled in part by a more effective partnership between government and the defence industry. The difference is that it is now up to this administration to deliver on this.
Some of Labour’s building blocks for this have already been set out. One is a more central military strategic headquarters within the Ministry of Defence to improve long-term planning and preparedness. Another is the creation of a new National Armaments Director post to help oversee, among other things, that perennial challenge of defence procurement reform. But real progress in this area has been stubbornly elusive despite past efforts.
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