Terrifying conscription warning for 2 groups of Brits with UK Army ‘weakest for 200 years’
Brits have been told the Army is the smallest it has been since the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 – and conscription ‘may be necessary’.
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of not doing enough to help the UK Armed Forces (Image: Getty)
It was less than a month ago that the UK’s defence chief stood at the lectern for his final speech of the year and delivered a bombshell warning; Britain’s “sons and daughters” must be ready to fight. Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton described the world as “more dangerous than I have known during my career”, but even he would have raised an eyebrow or two at quite how rapidly the security picture has shifted in the weeks that have followed.
Both in the east and the west, it seems apparent the international norms and rules underpinning the world as we know it are rapidly changing. America’s capture of Nicolas Maduro, NATO’s crisis over Donald Trump’s renewed threats to Greenland and the US-led seizure of a Russian-flagged tanker near the Scottish coast last week are just some of the most recent flashpoints. And make no mistake about it, Britain’s defences are not in a strong position.
The alarming warning from the Chief of the Defence Staff was not exactly new or a direct call for conscription, but many argue the UK risks leaving itself with few alternatives as Labour fails to cough up the cash amid the prospect of a £28 billion black hole.
Robert Lyman, a retired Army major and military historian, warned the UK is in a “much worse” position than it was before the outbreak of World War Two.
“Our armed forces have never been so denuded of power since the Napoleonic wars,” he said.
Britain’s military is too small, several experts have warned (Image: Getty)
“It’s really hard to describe how poorly-prepared we are — we have an Army that is probably smaller than it was during the Napoleonic wars.
“We all talk about the need for technology and how cyber and drones will win the next war. All of that is palpable nonsense.
“The way that wars are won are by mass of intelligence, infantry, armour and artillery, well-coordinated using technology to assist them.
“You can’t win wars using small armies.”
He added: “I’m afraid at the moment Britain is uniquely ill-defended and even worse than that, the Government is doing nothing about it.”
The UK has only ever had two periods of conscription, between 1916 and 1920, and 1939 and 1960.
Mr Lyman said it was “effective”, but bringing it back is only likely if there is a “clear, present and existential danger” to the UK.
The issue has gathered pace amid growing concerns over the threat posed by Russia and the UK’s ability to stand up for itself.
Britain has around 141,300 full-time troops, a number dwarfed by Russia’s more than 1.1 million.
The UK is estimated to be spending 2.4% of its national income on defence, while Vladimir Putin is pouring more than 7% into the Kremlin’s war machine.
Several European nations, including most recently Germany and France, have moved to bring back conscription to help solve their manpower woes and many defence commentators have urged the UK to consider following suit.
Others argue that while this must be in the minds of ministers, it should only be enacted when all other avenues have been exhausted.
Former Army intelligence officer Philip Ingram said the Armed Forces are in “one of the most shocking conditions” he has seen over the past 40 years, but exercised caution when it comes to national service.
He said: “Conscription is the worst thing possible for a professional military because it turns the professional military from focusing on training for modern operations to becoming a sausage machine for people going through a conscription process.
Labour is facing calls to increase the size of the military amid heightened tensions (Image: Getty)
“So, unless you grow the military enormously to create this separate training organisation that turns into a massive sausage machine, then you’re just going to impact the small number of troops that are trying to get a huge number of very complex tasks done around the world and prepare for an even larger number of even more complex tasks.
“The first thing the government should be doing is everything it possibly can to bolster our regular forces.”
He added: “It should be a last resort, but it should be a last resort we plan for now and we educate people about now, but don’t implement it until it’s needed.”
This was echoed by former Army officer and Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin.
The Defence Select Committee member said building up the active military, including an Army of above 100,000, must be the first priority but warned: “Obviously if we get in a shooting war with Russia, then we’re going to have conscription. There’s no doubt about that.”
Between the end of mandatory National Service in 1960 and 2025, the number of UK regular troops has drastically fallen by 74%.
The Army, which currently has 78,500 full-time soldiers including Gurkhas, fell by around 184,000 (71%) in this period.
In a damning assessment of Britain’s military might, Mr Martin added: “We’re in a very dangerous situation where if you don’t have military power, you don’t have a voice, your interests are not protected and if you don’t have military power, you can’t have any values.
“That’s where we are, and that’s what we need to do. We need to rapidly rebuild the UK’s military capability.”
Germany’s new military service was launched this month (Image: Getty)
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Crawford said the prospect of conscription “shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand”.
“The British Army is the smallest it has been since Waterloo and if we entered a major conventional war against Russia then we don’t have enough troops,” he said.
He continued: “The Army traditionally prefers to work on the principle that ‘one volunteer is worth 10 pressed men’. But numbers matter and if we can’t recruit sufficient volunteers then conscription may be necessary.
“How it is applied is another debate altogether, but younger single men and women would seem to be the obvious target demographic.”
Ex-Conservative defence minister Tobias Ellwood, a former soldier and Defence Select Committee chair, added: “After what’s happened so far this year, it’s difficult to think what might wake us up to how dangerous our world’s becoming other than a direct attack.
“We are still not having a serious conversation about preparations required for a very destabilising decade. NATO could easily fracture and America pull out of the UN.
“National service must now be a serious option to improve our resilience.”
The UK and Europe have previously been able to rely on US support, but comments from the Trump administration have thrown this into doubt.
British conscripts in December 1939 during the Second World War (Image: Getty)
The President’s latest threats to annex Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, have only exacerbated these fears.
Britain’s military has a well-documented recruitment and retention crisis, but worryingly it appears many Gen Zers are reluctant to go to war for their country — even if they had to.
In a recent poll, some four in ten (41%) of 18 to 27-year-olds said they would not fight for Britain under any circumstances.
Just 11% said they would fight if they were called up, while 37% said they would if they agreed with the reason for war.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard has said he cannot see conscription in the short-term, but questions will almost certainly continue unless significant investment is made into defence.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “The UK defence budget is rising to record levels as this government delivers the biggest boost to defence spending since the Cold War, totalling £270bn this parliament alone.
“This government has no plans to introduce conscription in the UK and believes the best way of defending our country is by maintaining professional Armed Forces who choose to serve.
“We are reversing the long-term decline in the size of the Army, will increase defence spending to 2.5% by 2027 and are providing better training, smarter use of existing capabilities and harnessing technological advancements so our armed forces operate precisely, at scale and at speed.”
