In 1939 on the eve of war the Royal Navy had 1400 ships. Today we have just 64. Only 16 are the larger surface warships, frigates, destroyers, and aircraft carriers.
It is time the UK woke up to the need to defend these islands with sufficient force. Proper defence begins with securing home.
The UK Prime Minister is trying to bridge the growing gap between Europe and the USA over Ukraine. He is right to side with the USA in telling the Europeans they have to make a bigger contribution to their own defence and to NATO. He is right to say the UK needs to spend more on its own defences.
He is wrong to pledge UK troops for some peacekeeping force when our army is small and stretched and when there is no peace to keep.
We have no idea what the task might be, how long it might last, how we might get out again. It is unrealistic to suggest we could spare say 20,000 troops for any length of time to contribute to such a venture.
In 2023, some 15,710 troops quit the Armed Forces altogether
GETTYSir Kier has said we should only commit if there was a US backstop or support. He should have listened to President Trump who made clear there will be no US back up.
President Trump is determined to stop the bloodshed and destruction wrought by the Ukraine war. He is negotiating to get a settlement from Russia in the belief that that is in the interests of Ukraine as well.
The row in the Oval Office last week is dangerous to Ukraine who need continuing US military support in the war.
President Trump was insistent that the US is keen to stop paying for the war and acting as a reserve force. The US wants out, peace or no peace. Ukraine needs to get more help from the US, not get cut off.
The Prime Minister needs to understand how run down our forces are. Like other European countries we have come to rely on US power for our defence. Our army of 250,000 in the Cold War is just 75,000 now.
We do have two impressive aircraft carriers but do not have the sailors and support ships to deploy both at the same time. We need to strengthen our anti missile and drone defences, stockpile more drones and missiles and buy more planes to defend our islands and fill our carriers.
LATEST MEMBERSHIP OPINION:
The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen ElizabethPAThe government needs to learn lessons from the two world wars. The US was not with us in either of these wars in their early years.
The UK needed anti submarine defences to safeguard the ships bringing imports we needed. We had to crank up home food and industrial production to stay alive and equip our men in arms.
The US stayed neutral over the Falklands where our armed forces alone had to defeat Argentina operating close to their own home bases.
To pay for the stronger military we need, the government should roll back net zero subsidies and delay the big spend on carbon capture and storage.
We need a bigger home steel, chemicals and vehicle industry to make the weapons and ammunition we require.
Instead the government is closing all our blast furnaces, speeding the decline of petrochemicals and shutting early all petrol and diesel car and van factories.
In 1943 the UK made 26,000 warplanes in the year. Today we import a few planes.
Continental Europe is badly split over what to do. There is no list of countries willing to commit troops to Ukraine. We hear Poland, Germany and Spain say No.
They have long and exposed land borders to defend and need large armies with heavy armour and air cover to do so. We have a Channel and North Sea to defend which needs a better Iron Dome, planes and naval force.
We need to get on with rebuilding our defences as history tells us we might need to fend for ourselves.
The famous Article 5 of NATO says an attack on one is an attack on all but it does not bind all to joining the war. Article 3 tells NATO members they each need to provide for their own defence.
That is exactly what we need to do now. The only way to guarantee our safety is to ensure we can stop attacks on our islands for ourselves.