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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think that we should spend less on defence

134 replies

Blightfitting · 02/07/2026 11:49

Interesting article in the paper today
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/01/britain-military-spending-defence-keir-starmer

It chimes with my thinking recently. Why is it that people are completely convinced that we need to spend way more on defence (and thus cut or borrow or raise taxes at home)? Why is the conversation not more nuanced?

How can Russia simultaneously be so shit that it can't beat Ukraine in 4.5yrs and also a looming threat to us?

I get that they can fight a shadow war, with cyber attacks and lone-wolves and infrastructure stuff. But the way to stop these things isn't aircraft carriers and tanks! Ukraine are holding their own using teeny tiny cheap drones, so why do we need to spend billions on battleships? And don't get me started on Trident. Why do we need to have so many nuclear weapons when surely one will do?

I honestly don't get it. Yes we need to be capable of defending ourselves, but the proposed ways of doing this seem bizarre and insanely costly relative to the actual threats we face. AIBU?

There is no immediate military threat to Britain. We should spend less on defence | Simon Jenkins

Parliament, media and thinktanks are united in their view that more military spending is still not enough. But sacrificing domestic projects to pay for it is indefensible, says Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/01/britain-military-spending-defence-keir-starmer

OP posts:
Friendlygingercat · 02/07/2026 16:36

The MOD does not use their resources well. Their procurement record is notoriously inefficient and corrupt. It would be throwing good money after bad.

ACynicalDad · 02/07/2026 16:34

If your defence is strong you are less likely to need it. Russia thought Ukraine was weak, if they thought they were stronger they wouldn't have tried.

howdoidoitalone · 02/07/2026 16:33

Badbadbunny · 02/07/2026 16:32

Ukraine isn't a tiny little country spending bugger all on defence. The Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe. It's over twice the size of the UK and spends a whopping 40% of it's GDP on defence compared with the UK which spends a fraction of that, i.e. just 2.5% of it's GRP. The Ukraine's military spending is the 7th largest in the World! Some figures per a Google search show the Ukraine spend more on defence/military than Russia! The Ukraine has proved to be able to repel Russia because it has a massive military/defence, planned for over the long term, to counter the ever present Russian threat. It's a very worthy opponent against Russia.

Ukraine’s GDP is $225.3 billion, compared to our $3,643 billion. It’s not comparable.

Badbadbunny · 02/07/2026 16:32

Ukraine isn't a tiny little country spending bugger all on defence. The Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe. It's over twice the size of the UK and spends a whopping 40% of it's GDP on defence compared with the UK which spends a fraction of that, i.e. just 2.5% of it's GRP. The Ukraine's military spending is the 7th largest in the World! Some figures per a Google search show the Ukraine spend more on defence/military than Russia! The Ukraine has proved to be able to repel Russia because it has a massive military/defence, planned for over the long term, to counter the ever present Russian threat. It's a very worthy opponent against Russia.

howdoidoitalone · 02/07/2026 16:25

This is exactly it.

for the last five years we’ve been told we need to cut everything back to spend on defence. Cut welfare, education, healthcare and pump it all into defence.

meanwhile Russia, who are apparently our biggest threat, can’t make any meaningful progress in Ukraine.

it’s no coincidence this push is forced by Trump, who no doubt has shares in many military companies.

war machine goes brrrr

Meadowfinch · 02/07/2026 16:22

Because cheap drones won't protect us against prolonged cyber aggression from China. Or if Russia & China join forces.

We need to maintain awareness, strong intelligence activities, and the hardware and computing assets to handle the data.

Upstartled · 02/07/2026 16:18

I think we should prioritise defence.

MrsPapillon · 02/07/2026 16:18

Ukraine has only lasted this long because they’ve been given almost the entire stocks of arms by Europe. We’ve got none left, and they need replacing.

DPotter · 02/07/2026 16:14

I think we need to put more £ into defence.

We're a member of NATO and have agreed to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence and 1.5% on 'security' by 2035 and we're well shy of that. Russia & N Korea pose a clear threat as far as cyber attacks - both internet based and riping up undersea cables.

We can argue about the best way to spend the money, however what we can't do is wait until the last minute to make the money available. Capabilty needs a gradual increase in funding. If the MOD was given the full 3.5% tonight, they can't order the drones, ships and cyber security staff on Amazon for delivery tomorrow.