LONDON (AP) – The British government on Wednesday announced plans to introduce conscription after Britain’s military commander said a “citizen army” was needed to fight future wars with countries like Russia. It has been announced that there are no plans to introduce it.
Chief of Staff Gen. Patrick Sanders said preparing for a potential ground war must be a “whole-of-nation” effort. He praised European countries close to Russia for “carefully laying the foundations for national mobilization.”
Mr Saunders, who has long advocated for increased military spending and is due to step down this year, said: “It must be credible to talk about 120,000 British troops within the next three years.”
“But this is not enough,” he added during a speech at the International Armored Vehicles Conference in London. “It is now not merely desirable, but essential, to take preparatory measures to put society on a war footing when necessary.”
“Ukraine brutally shows that regular forces start wars and militias win them,” he said.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s press secretary Max Blaine said the government had “no intention” of introducing conscription.
“The British Army has a proud tradition of being a volunteer force. There are no plans to change that,” he said.
He added that “participating in a virtual war” is “useless.”
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps has also used harsh words about the threat to Britain, saying last week that Britain was “moving from a post-war world to a pre-war world”.
Nevertheless, the government has no plans to increase the size of the military from its current level of about 74,000 full-time soldiers, down from 102,000 in 2006. The government has said it intends to increase military spending from just over 2% of GDP to 2.5%. % — still far less than at the height of the Cold War.
The British Army conscripted soldiers during World War I and again during and after World War II, but for most of its 364-year history it has been an all-volunteer force.
