By the Editorial Board | National Security News
General Sir Richard Barrons has issued the kind of warning that democratic societies too often ignore until it is too late. Writing recently in the Financial Times, the former head of UK Joint Forces Command argued that Britain has reached a critical juncture. The threats facing the country are existential, the margin for delay is evaporating, and only decisive action can secure the nation’s future.
The message is direct: if Britain wishes to avoid war, it must prepare for it.
A world growing more dangerous
For decades after the Cold War, British policymakers assumed that peace in Europe was assured and that the UK could afford to scale back defence. Conflicts in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan were viewed as limited interventions, not existential contests for national survival. That era is over.
The return of great-power confrontation, the rise of authoritarian regimes, and the spread of cyber conflict have created a multipolar world of constant tension. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already demonstrated how quickly peace can shatter. China’s expanding power and hostility to the West underline that Britain cannot rely on geographic distance to shield it from risk.
General Barrons reminds us that in such a world, complacency is not a strategy. Deterrence is the only way to preserve peace.
The case for investment
At present, Britain spends roughly two per cent of its GDP on defence. This meets NATO’s formal target but, as Barrons observes, it is insufficient to sustain a credible deterrent in today’s environment. He argues that spending must rise to between 3.5 and five per cent of GDP if the UK is to deter aggression rather than simply respond to it.
This is not an indulgence. It is insurance against a catastrophe that could consume half the nation’s wealth and countless lives. History teaches that wars fought unprepared are wars lost at enormous cost. To underfund defence now is to mortgage the country’s future security.
The Strategic Defence Review: promise and peril
The 2025 Strategic Defence Review is the boldest attempt in 150 years to adapt Britain’s defence posture to new realities. It emphasises technological modernisation, closer NATO cooperation, and the integration of security with economic growth. Done properly, it could transform Britain into a nation both resilient at home and formidable abroad.
But a review is only as strong as its implementation. The Ministry of Defence has too often promised reform only to be hamstrung by bureaucracy, inefficiency and political short-termism. Industry leaders and citizens alike remain sceptical that the MoD can deliver. That scepticism must be confronted head-on. The government cannot allow this plan to gather dust; it must drive it relentlessly into practice.
Whole-of-society mobilisation
Deterrence is no longer solely the domain of tanks, ships and jets. Adversaries are already striking in subtler ways—through cyber intrusions, disinformation campaigns, and threats to undersea cables and energy infrastructure. The Chinese-linked cyberattack on the UK Electoral Commission in 2021–22 was not an isolated incident; it was a preview of the hybrid warfare that will increasingly target democratic societies.
Meeting this challenge requires a whole-of-society approach. Britain’s armed forces cannot stand alone. The private sector, local authorities, universities and civil society all have a role to play in strengthening resilience. Cyber defence, critical infrastructure protection and supply-chain security are national responsibilities, not niche specialisms.
Innovation and industry’s role
General Barrons rightly calls for a new partnership between government and industry. Britain’s innovators in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing represent a strategic asset as important as any military base. Yet too often, their insights are trapped in slow procurement cycles or overlooked by risk-averse officials.
The call is clear: Britain’s innovators must have direct access to senior decision-makers at Number 10 and the Treasury. Funding must flow quickly to proven technologies. Bureaucratic inertia cannot be permitted to delay national readiness. In a world where adversaries are racing ahead, every month lost is a month of increased vulnerability.
Urgency without delay
The Strategic Defence Review outlines a ten-year horizon for transformation. But the threats facing Britain will not wait a decade to materialise. To treat defence reform as a leisurely process is to misunderstand the nature of the challenge. The UK must accelerate procurement, invest in skills now, and treat national defence with the seriousness of a wartime mobilisation.
This does not mean exaggerating the threat. It means recognising reality. The longer Britain postpones decisive action, the greater the risk that conflict will become unavoidable. By investing today, the nation buys the most valuable commodity of all: time to deter, time to prepare, and ultimately, time to preserve peace.
Our view
National Security News endorses General Barrons’ call without reservation. The United Kingdom stands at a crossroads. To continue muddling through at two per cent of GDP on defence is to gamble recklessly with the nation’s future. To embrace a strategy of credible deterrence—funded adequately, implemented effectively, and supported by the whole of society—is to choose security and stability.
Britain must not stumble into crisis unprepared. It must act now, with resolve, and in doing so demonstrate to allies and adversaries alike that it is ready to defend its people, its democracy and its role in the world.
The choice is stark, but the path is clear. To prevent war, Britain must prepare for it.
