British prime minister Keir Starmer has announced the government’s Strategic Defence Review, promising a “new era” in national security. Speaking from Glasgow on Monday, June 2nd, the PM emphasised living in an uncertain world and needing to find a sense of national purpose.
Nuclear warheads and refurbished submarines are in the mix as part of the upped military spending, but only as an ‘ambition.’ The question of how it will be paid for remains unanswered, meaning the spending target of 3.5% to 5% as part of NATO membership is unfulfilled.
As Defence Minister Luke Pollard did the secondary round of talking to journalists, the government highlighted the twin threats of Russia and China, while pointing to the benefits of what commentators are calling ‘military Keynesianism.’ For Starmer,
Every part of society, every citizen of this country has a role to play, because we have to recognise that things have changed in the world of today. The threat we now face is more serious, more immediate, and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War.
The speech follows last week’s announcement of a British ‘army of hackers’ to counter cyber attacks.
It remains to be seen whether this rhetorical shift to a war footing will capture the public imagination, or instead end up in the same memory hole as Starmer’s ‘reassurance force,’ part of his floundering ‘coalition of the willing.’
