Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset has questioned Britain’s ability to fight a sustained war after years of defence cuts, saying “this relatively minor excursion in the Red Sea is yet another wake up call.”
Speaking during a debate on the situation in the Red Sea, Drax said, “For 13 years in this place, I and many others have called for more money for defence. For 13 years, various Prime Ministers have reassured us that our armed forces are in good order and ready to fight. I have no doubt at all that our brave men and women are ready for just that, but do we have the resilience, numbers, reserves, ships, planes and armoured vehicles to fight a sustained conflict?”
The situation “puts the spotlight on the Royal Navy, which is so short of sailors that some ships are having to be retired early,” said Drax, “As both my grandfather and father took great pride in reminding me, the Royal Navy is the senior service, and there is a good reason for that. There is no doubt that a very large fleet during the second world war played a significant part in saving this country from invasion and in keeping our vital trade routes open, not least to the US.”
“The much-reduced Royal Navy again played a vital role in re-taking the Falklands in 1982. Unfortunately, the peace dividend has continued to take its toll and the Royal Navy is critically short of ships and sailors—to the point that we are endangering the security of our country.”
“The head of our Army is warning about calling up the public in the event of war…NATO Admiral Rob Bauer (is) saying we should prepare for “all-out war” with Russia, and Germany is predicting Putin could attack NATO in as little as five years. With all that in mind, why does the Royal Navy have only 18 frigates and destroyers, with only a small number able to deploy at any one time?”
“To be fair to the Government, some 13 new warships are planned and £31 billion is being spent on upgrading our nuclear submarine fleet, but we will not see those for some years to come. The threat is now and, as I have said, very real.”
“Expenditure is a matter of priorities,” added Drax, “Can we ask the military what it needs to play a prominent role in NATO and to defend our country and its dependents? Once we have that worked out, we can then see what we can afford. If we cannot afford it, I suggest that we reignite the economy, get growth going, raise the tax revenue by lowering taxes, and put more money into our armed forces.”