𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

New research lays bare Britons’ fear that the country could not fight and win a major war. Two out of three people (65%) say the United Kingdom is not ready to fight a war abroad. Three in five (59%) think the nation is not capable of defending itself at home.

The investigation by More in Common comes as Labour is under intense pressure to publish its plan for investment in the armed forces. Three in five Britons (62%) say they support investing in defence even if it means cutting benefits. However, support drops when they are asked about cutting specific areas of spending.

Nine in 10 (89%) say NHS spending should not be touched. Only half (49%) would support cutting unemployment benefits to spend more on defence. Just a quarter (26%) back cutting disability benefits for this reason.

Scrapping the triple lock – which ensures the state pension goes up by at least 2.5% and keeps pace with wage increases and inflation – is opposed by 59% of voters. Three-quarters (74%) oppose cutting disability benefits.

Reform UK voters are the most likely to think Britain cannot defend itself at home (77%) and that not enough is spent on the military (69%). However, almost as many Green voters say defence spending is too high (24%) as too low (27%).

Labour voters are the most content with the status quo, with 44% saying defence spending is about right. In an interview for the Sunday Express, Lord Dannatt, the former head of the UK Army, suggested the UK could be “drinking in the last chance saloon” and running out of time to rearm.

A Reform UK spokesperson said: “It is no surprise that millions of Britons fear this country is not ready for a major war. Years of Tory mismanagement have hollowed out our armed forces, slashed defence capability, and diverted billions into a bloated welfare system. Just look at recent events – our Navy has been so neglected it took weeks to deploy a single ship to Cyprus, only for it to return to dock with faults. At the last election, Reform UK was the only party which promised to raise defence spending to 3.5% of GDP, and we are the only party serious about rebuilding our military and ensuring Britain can properly defend itself.”

But a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “We are providing the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War, investing over £270billion in defence across this Parliament, ensuring no return to the hollowed out armed forces of the past. The Strategic Defence Review sets out our path to increasing warfighting readiness, and the upcoming Defence Investment Plan will set out how we deliver the best kit into the hands of our armed forces, ensuring they are ready to face future threats.”