Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 4:40 pm on 8 July 2026.
Mike Martin
Liberal Democrat, Tunbridge Wells
4:40,
8 July 2026
I will not list the constituencies of all the hon. and right hon. Members who have contributed; they know who they are and I thank them very much.
Three themes came out of this debate that were interesting and bear repeating. First, we are already in a war and it is happening in different ways and it is happening below the threshold, but the threshold is moving about and we need to think about that. Secondly, there is the point about national resilience, the economy and the industrial base. In an age of drones that get depleted, with a cycle in which the drone model changes every six weeks, it is about how quickly we can build stuff. Nations win wars, and we need our economy to reflect that. Thirdly, we need to trust the public and tell them not just about the threat that we face but about the current state of our armed forces and where they need to get to.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved,
That this House
recognises the danger that Russia’s renewed illegal invasion of Ukraine poses to European and British security;
further recognises the threat to the international order and the UK posed by China;
also recognises the increasing uncertainty surrounding the reliability of the US as an ally within NATO;
acknowledges the current shortfalls in the UK’s ability to deploy a credible fighting force;
further acknowledges that this lack of military capability is resulting in the coercion of Britain and its interests in the international sphere;
and calls on the Government to begin a programme of rapid rearmament to strengthen the defence of the UK and its allies.