Starmer and Nato: he enters a tougher world than Blair but knows our army isn’t match-fit
The IndependentWhen Tony Blair won the 1997 election for Labour with a landslide Commons majority of 179 seats, the world was largely at peace. New defence secretary John Healey meets Volodymyr Zelensky in Odesa on Sunday At Starmer’s first foreign trip to the Nato summit in Washington this week, he will reiterate the pledge he made to Volodymyr Zelensky that Britain’s commitment to Ukraine is unwavering. In government, Labour could try to reprise Britain’s former role connecting Washington and the EU, and become a bridge between a Trump administration and Nato by encouraging member states to spend more on defence. As a result, “large parts of the UK’s armed forces lack the critical enablers, munitions, and maintenance capabilities they need to be match-fit for Nato’s front line against Russia”, says Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general of think tank RUSI. Britain backed the US-led Iraq invasion with 46,000 troops, and in Afghanistan’s Helmand province alone, there were almost 10,000 troops and 137 bases for years as part of the American-led International Security Assistance Force.
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Britain's Armed Forces are 'not ready to fight' says Defence Secretary John Healey as he suggests military has 'far deeper problems than we thought' after years of cuts
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