David Vance SubstackRead More
I thought it was very telling that the UK Government under Starmer stands accused of a “corrosive complacency “that is leaving Britain perilously exposed in an increasingly hostile world. As threats from Russia, Iran and other adversaries escalate, the Prime Minister appears much more focused on expanding the bloated welfare state rather than in safeguarding our national security.
Former Labour Defence Secretary and ex-NATO chief Lord George Robertson has delivered a blistering verdict. In a stark warning, he declared that Britain is “underprepared, underinsured, under attack” and simply “just not safe.” Robertson, who himself had helped shape the government’s own Strategic Defence Review, accused political leaders of paying mere lip service to rising dangers while failing to deliver anything like the investment needed.
He pointed directly to the Treasury’s apparent “vandalism” of defence budgets, arguing that an ever-expanding welfare bill cannot defend the nation. “We cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget,” Yes, that is right but he misses the point – for Starmer it’s not about defending Britain, it’s about defending Labour seats. There is no vision at all!
Of course the evidence of failure is mounting all around us.During the early stages of the Iran conflict, the Royal Navy could deploy only a single warship to the Mediterranean. Even then, it broke down before it could actually get there because the toilets wouldn’t flush.
All the key military areas of logistics, engineering, cyber capabilities, ammunition stocks, training and medical support are in crisis. The Navy and RAF are widely described as being way too small to meet modern demands. Senior military voices, including General Sir Richard Barrons, highlight an “enormous gap” between the forces required to keep Britain safe and the hollowed-out reality on the ground.
I think this is the truth of the matter but Starmer doesn’t want to talk about this. He is pursuing s very different agenda.
Even our Cold War-era strengths, such as tracking Russian submarines, have withered on the vine. There is a £28 billion funding shortfall looming over the next four years if current plans remain unchanged. Government has committed to reaching 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2027, with vague ambitions for 3 per cent in the next Parliament. This is mere rhetoric with sod all to back it up!
Chancellor Reeves devoted just 40 words to defence in her last Budget and none in her Spring Statement. The long-promised Defence Investment Plan remains unpublished, mired in delay and indecision. This is not effective leadership by Starmer ; it is bureaucratic procrastination dressed up as prudence and it’s sickening to behold.
Starmer’s approach also reveals a fundamental misreading of the times. Global instability is no longer some vague distant risk but a real and present danger. Russian warships brazenly escort shadow fleets through the English Channel, while the Western alliances are creaking with signs of strain. The United States has made clear it will no longer act as the automatic saviour. Several former military leaders stress that the “US cavalry is not coming” to bail Britain out.
So we need to actually DO something.
Relying on bombastic rhetoric in the House of Commons about “global Britain” while skimping on hard power is hypocritical and reckless. What we need is a Government that has the RIGHT priorities. Restoring the two-child benefit cap, scaling back all wasteful Net Zero spending and placing defence industries on a war footing could free resources without crippling public services.
I saw that Former Defence Secretary Lord John Hutton had urged Starmer to treat this as the defining moment of his premiership. Instead, his government clings to ideological complacency, pretending that incremental pledges and warm words will suffice.
Of course this is not a debate about ideology alone, it’ s about our survival. A nation that cannot protect its sea lanes, skies or borders invites aggression. Enemies can see how weak we have been become, Putin mocks us. They can smell how weak we are.
Starmer’s government, by choosing benefits over bombs and welfare over warships, is gambling with our future. The threats will not wait for the next spending review.
If the Prime Minister continues down this path of corrosive neglect, history will judge his administration not for its lack of domestic ambitions, but for the security it squandered.
