Stuart Crawford discusses the need for significant reforms in Britain's armed forces, focusing on funding and equipment procurement. He criticizes the current defence budget of 60 billion pounds (2.3% of GDP), advocating for an increase to 3% by the next parliament and 3.5% by 2035, potentially reaching 140 billion pounds annually. Crawford suggests reallocating funds from the bloated welfare budget (313-384 billion for 2024-25) and abandoning the irrational pursuit of net zero. He highlights the inefficiencies in MOD procurement, citing the Ajax program's eight-year delay and 6.3 billion pound cost. Crawford plans to recommend major defence priorities in future articles.

Reforming Britain's Armed Forces: Funding and Equipment Procurement Stuart Crawford introduces the second part of his series on UK defence reform, focusing on funding and  ...