Mr. Starmer is going to War

Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain on Monday promised to bring his country to “war-fighting readiness” as he announced plans to build up to 12 new attack submarines and invest billions of pounds in nuclear and other weaponry as part of new military strategy for a more dangerous world, ‘The New York Times’ reports.

“If you want to deter conflict, then the best way to do that is to prepare for conflict,” Mr. Starmer said in a BBC interview on Monday morning, ahead of the release of the government’s strategic defense review that will outline plans to ramp up production of drones and increase stockpiles of munitions and equipment.

Britain’s ambitious rearmament plan comes against the gathering clouds in Ukraine, American disengagement from Europe and rising global tensions. Mr. Starmer presented his plans hours after one of the most intense aerial bombardments of the three-year war, with Ukrainian drones striking air bases deep in Russian territory.

The review, led by George Robertson, a former secretary general of NATO, was set up last year soon after Mr. Starmer won a general election. But its task was given fresh urgency amid growing evidence of President Trump’s weakened commitment to European security and his ambivalent attitude toward President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

At the review among the recommendations were the procurement of up to 7,000 British-built long-range weapons and the creation of a new cybercommand, alongside an investment of a billion pounds, equivalent to $1.35 billion, in digital capability.

Money will be invested in protecting critical British underwater infrastructure as well as in drones which have proved highly effective in the war in Ukraine.

The government on Monday stressed the benefits for the domestic economy of investing in rearmament, but the question hanging over the new strategy is how much, in straightened times, the British government can afford to spend.

Mr. Starmer has promised to increase Britain’s outlay to 2.5 percent of gross national product, paying for it by diverting resources from overseas aid development. Speaking to the BBC, he said Britain needed “to go on from there,” but added that he could not set a precise date for when that number would rise to 3 percent until he was sure of exactly where the money would come from.

In a statement, the government said its conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarine fleet would be significantly expanded, with up to 12 new vessels to be built as part of a security alliance with the United States and Australia, known as Aukus, which is designed to counter China’s growing influence.

The government described the new strategy as a “landmark shift in our deterrence and defense: moving to warfighting readiness to deter threats and strengthen security in the Euro Atlantic area.”

Speaking on Monday, Mr. Starmer was at pains to restate Britain’s commitment to NATO and the trans-Atlantic alliance, a strategy he has pursued by assiduously cultivating Mr. Trump on security and trade issues.

But among the eye-catching recommendations expected from the review is one to consider purchasing fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons, a potential harbinger of declining British dependence on the American nuclear umbrella.

Writing on social media, Mike Martin, a lawmaker for the Liberal Democrats and a military veteran, said that the details known so far about the review were a “sign that the U.K. government no longer fully trusts the Americans to be engaged in European security.”

British governments have produced defense reviews at least once a decade since World War II: The last one was conducted in 2021 and updated in 2023.

And all this against the backdrop of the country's steadily worsening economy? Don’t forget to ask the British, Mr Starmer…

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