Former UK military chief encourages doubling of defence spending
The UK spent £53.9 billion on defence in the 2023/24 and the Government has committed to increases in the coming years.
Britain should double its defence spending to respond to global threats, a former UK defence chief has suggested.
Lord Stirrup, who served as head of the Armed Forces between 2006 and 2010, said the “umbrella of American might” is now looking “somewhat leaky” as he encouraged European members of Nato to “shoulder a much greater share of the burden” for their own security.
After he outlined the need for European countries to spend “much more” on defence, the independent crossbench peer explained this should be “something of the order of twice what we currently spend”.
The UK spent £53.9 billion on defence in the 2023/24 and the Government has committed to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) – a measure of the size of the economy – on defence from April 2027, rising to 3% during the next Parliament.
Nato estimates the UK spent 2.3% of its GDP on defence in 2024.
Lord Stirrup, speaking during a debate to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan, told the House of Lords: “Aggressive war is once more being waged in Europe.
“Meanwhile, the umbrella of American might under which we have sheltered for so long is looking, to say the least, somewhat leaky.
“We in Europe have for years neglected our own military power relying on others to make up the deficit. Now we’re being measured by events and found wanting as we were in the 1930s.
“Nato protected our societies through the long testing years of the Cold War and it remains the best, indeed the only credible instrument for ensuring our future security.
“But it is a different Nato to the one we’ve been used to. It is a Nato that must recognise the substantial shift of American power from Europe to the Indo-Pacific, a shift that will continue whoever occupies the White House.
“It is a Nato in which European members must shoulder a much greater share of the burden for their own security than they’ve done for many years.
“There’s growing acceptance of this truth but we still fail to accept the consequences.
“The first is the need for us in Europe, particularly those with the larger economies, to spend much more on defence and by much more I do not mean marginal increases, I mean something of the order of twice what we currently spend.
“The second consequence is the need for a way of funding, developing, procuring and operating the strategic military capabilities which we have for too long been overreliant on the United States.
“It cannot be Nato because not all members of the alliance are European, it cannot be the EU because not all members of the EU are in Nato and not all European members of Nato are in the EU.”
He went on to highlight a proposal from a think tank for a “European defence mechanism”, which would be a procurement agency.
Opening the debate, defence minister Lord Coaker said: “Today I feel it is incumbent on us, not only to reflect and to appreciate the millions of individual sacrifices that secured our freedoms, but also learning lessons about our security, lessons about solitary and lessons about service that will serve us well in once again this dangerous era in which we live.
“On security, Neville Chamberlain quickly became shorthand for the folly of appeasement. Over time, more and more historians have convincingly pointed out that Britain was in no position to stand up to Hitler in September 1938.
“And the lesson today that needs to be fully understood, and is accepted by all of us I think, or many of us, that if we want peace in our time and in the future we can never again take our eye off the importance of deterrents, particularly as potential adversaries arm themselves to the teeth.
“And should President Trump be successful in his efforts to bring peace to Ukraine, and we hope he will be, enhanced deterrents in Ukraine and across Europe and Nato will be the decisive factor in securing peace in Europe again and preventing further Russian aggression.
“And as we celebrate VE Day, let us also remember the strength and courage of the Ukrainian people and all those who have supported them in resisting the illegal invasion of their territory.”
Labour peer Lord Anderson of Swansea recalled his “distant memories” of the Blitz in Swansea.
He said: “I do remember the blackouts, the barrage balloons, the air raid sirens and particularly my little Mickey Mouse gas mask, which I treasured.”
Lord Dubs, who fled Nazi-occupied Prague on the Kindertransport in 1939, said: “I give my thanks to the people of Britain for giving me safety.”
However, he questioned whether Europe has learned the lessons of the Second World War, citing antisemitism and Islamophobia across the continent, the war in Ukraine and calls to appease Russia, as well as conflicts further afield, with Israel and Gaza, and with India and Pakistan.
The Labour peer said: “So, looking back upon VE Day, I don’t think we’ve done all that well as a continent.
“I think we could have done a lot better and I think in some ways we have let down the people who fought and gave their lives for a better future than we are seeing at the moment.”
