MP Tobias Ellwood has told Britain to "wake up" and urged the Government to invest more in the armed forces after the head of the Army said Britain should "train and equip" a "citizen army" to ready the country for a potential land war.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ruled out the possibility of people being drafted into the army and has said that the military service will remain voluntary.
Speaking to GB News, Ellwood said: "We should listen to the head of the British Army who says his wider piece was that the growing threat picture is deteriorating.
"Britain should wake up. How we do that as a society, that's a big question now. But from any angle, I think we can all agree that our world is becoming more contested, more fragmented, and more dangerous and Britain is very much exposed.
"We've got authoritarian states that are exploiting the West's collective reluctance. If you'd like to intervene, that's been progressive over the last couple of decades.
"We've entered a new era of insecurity. We're seeing countries like Russia, China, and Iran become more assertive and work more as an alliance.
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"So the big question is, what do we do to defend what's important to us? We may not want war, but war is heading to us in the next couple of decades. Now is the time to start thinking about it."
When asked "how we prepare" for war the MP explained: "We need to start spending more on defence. That is the bottom line. I think that again, over the last couple of decades, there's been a reluctance to do so. During the Cold War, we spent about 4% of GDP on defense.
The head of the army said that [eople could have to go fight for the country
PA"But when you understand that half of our GDP is affected by international headwinds, this is the important message that our economy is symbiotically related to our security.
"What's going on in the Red Sea, shipping is disrupted because we're not able to protect it, they have to reroute around Africa and that has had a knock on impact and gas prices here in the UK.
"During the Cold War, we had 50 frigates and destroyers, we're down to 15. Today we had five divisions in the army, we're down to 1. Today we had 36 fast-debt squadrons. We're down to six today.
"So yes, you do need to if you're going to protect what's important to you and join with your allies. Don't forget it's not just Britain that does all the heavy lifting.
Elwood spoke to GB News
GB News
"We do need to invest more in our armed forces. And I think the government is now recognising this.
"The noise that you're hearing from Grant Shapps certainly is welcome.
"But these are big decisions, particularly when understandably, people want to spend money on our schools, our hospitals, our roads, our policing, and so forth.
"Ultimately, I'm saying if you don't look after your economy from afar, there won't be money in the coffers to be able to spend on these other domestic issues."
