The Defence Secretary Grant Shapps gave a major speech at Lancaster House in London, presenting a bleak world that he believes justifies high military spending. Shapps emphasized that Britain is in a “pre-war world” and cannot afford to reduce spending on the military. He stated that the “peace dividend” following the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s is over and predicted that in the next five years, there could be multiple theaters of conflict, including those involving Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
Moreover, Shapps announced that 20,000 British service personnel would participate in NATO’s largest military exercises since the Cold War and recently approved a £2.5 billion support package to Ukraine. He stated that now is the time for allied and democratic nations across the world to ensure their defense spending is also increasing.
In his speech, Shapps underscored the critical decision to set out the aspiration to reach 2.5 percent of GDP on defense, but he argued that it should rise to 3 percent. He stated, “We made the critical decision to set out our aspiration to reach 2.5 percent of GDP on defence, and as we stabilise and grow this economy we’ll continue to strive to reach that as soon as possible.” He also noted the need for other democratic nations to follow suit and grow their defense spending.
Shapps described the present state of affairs as the dawn of a new era, characterized by a shift from an age of idealism to a period of hard-headed realism. He warned that old enemies are being reanimated, new foes are taking shape, and battle lines are being redrawn. The tanks are, in Mr. Shapps’ words, “literally on Europe’s Ukrainian lawn” and the foundations of the world order are being shaken to their core.
Following the weekend’s attacks, Mr. Shapps refused to rule out further action against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to protect British shipping in the Red Sea. Sunak stated, “Freedom of navigation is just a given and always had been for many years. We cannot have a situation where they are trying to harass it, and we will keep a very close eye. If we have to take further action, that is something that we will consider.” He further warned that if the situation does not improve, decisions will be made accordingly.