Only a long-term funding plan can replenish our weakened Navy
It’s in the nature of defence that you mostly don’t notice it. In the last 10 days, defence has become visible again. HMS Montrose has accompanied more than 30 vessels in the Strait of Hormuz with one major intervention to protect the ship British Heritage. Had she been given longer notice of the Stena Impero’s transit, it may have been 31 ships she would have seen safely through. While cooperation with merchant shipping is the critical factor in keeping those sea lanes open, the greater the number of hulls you have, the greater options and flexibility you have. Our ships and their crews are very capable but they can’t be in two places at once. Our
defence capabilities are critical to our interests and must be properly funded.
Our quality of life and our way of life is dependent on the Royal Navy and the other Armed Forces. So, what should an incoming prime minister do to ensure that we have the forces we need? How much should we spend?
People focus on the 2 per cent Nato commitment, which Britain meets. Politicians rightly encourage other nations to match it. But 2, 2.5 or 3 per cent is not the issue. We need clarity about the capabilities we need and that’s why we have defence reviews. Yet we fail to deliver on them.
In the last 22 years, if we had built all the ships we said we would need, we would have at least 32 new destroyers and frigates. We’ve mothballed them for lack of crew, spares or funds. We spend heavily on costly design and innovation, then only build a handful. We run our old vessels into the ground and delay new ones to run up massive long-term costs. All because we’re not measuring over the longer-term. This must stop. We need to commit to a 10-year balance sheet. This will allow the enormous benefit of defence spending to be seen in the fields of education, industry, science, training and infrastructure. We must do more to maximise the full value of defence.
I want to create a virtuous circle where long order books and a steady drumbeat in our construction yards strengthens our supply chain and bring down long-term costs, a closer partnership with industry. Which is why I have asked the MOD to develop its industrial policy and asked the Department for Exiting the EU to ensure, once we leave, that we have the choice where we build not just our warships but support ships, too.
If the Royal Navy and wider defence is to deliver on the ambitions of our country, then we must tackle the inadequate funding and political thinking that undermines the best Armed Forces in the world.