Defence Secretary speech at RUSI Land Warfare Conference 2024

Thank you for inviting me. I have to say this is a really huge pleasure to join you here and a real honour to do so as the new Secretary of State for Defence for this country.

So, thank you to RUSI for what is a rich programme over the two days but particularly thank you for letting me join you.

Last week I visited the Permanent Joint Headquarters to get a briefing on some of the current really critical work that has been going on there. And General Charlie Stickland ran me through what he called his ‘three Rs'.

Now, I know I am quoting a Royal Marine to an Army audience but hang on it is the joint headquarters.

Reassurance. Reality. Request.

I'm always keen to learn. And as a politician I'm always keen to pick other people's good ideas and try and use them for myself so I'm going to take that to structure my argument, not just a speech, for you today. And I'm going to add to this rule of three Rs to add one of my own: responsibility.

Let me begin where General Charlie did last week, with reassurance.

And in some ways, this is my most important point to you.

This new Government stands steadfast behind the British Army. Behind our wider armed forces and behind all those out of uniform who also make such an important contribution to the defence of this country.  

Many roles, One Defence.

And in the British Army, you're essential to our national defence, and to our national resilience. We're proud of you professionalism, we're proud of your dedication to service, and your work is central to keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad.

Working alongside the RAF to provide life-saving aid to Gaza, training more than 40,000 Ukrainians. Commemorating the D-Day, those heroes who gave their lives to stop the Nazis overrunning Europe. And building ties now with our allies, through exercises like Steadfast Defender in NATO.

You will have this new Government's fullest support to do your job, defending Britain and deterring threats.

Because we know as a government that is our most important first duty - to keep the country safe and to protect our citizens.

That's why, at the recent NATO summit in Washington the Prime Minister and I confirmed this Government's unshakeable commitment to NATO and the UK's nuclear deterrent.

And we confirmed also our total commitment to raising defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.

It's why the Prime Minister last week launched the first-of-its-kind Strategic Defence Review.

And it's why we announced legislation in our first King's Speech legislation to create a new independent Armed Forces Commissioner to improve service life.

Reassurance.

Let me introduce my extra ‘R' at this point: Responsibility.

At that NATO summit, in week one, as a new government, we wanted to demonstrate that we were getting on with the job, to serve the country.

I was struck by how the other nations there looked at us and noted two particular things.

The first, that in our British system, there is a decisive change of power after an election – unlike many other countries.

And second, they looked at us and noted that our British government now has a strong mandate promising stability, again, unlike many other countries who are approaching their own elections or facing uncertainty in their governing coalitions.

This is an important responsibility for us now as a nation. A responsibility in our relations with allies, and of course it is also an opportunity.

So, as a government, we do have a mandate for change.

To restore public service to politics.

To re-earn public trust in Government.

And to reduce the politics, the partisan politics in national security.

Because no political party has the monopoly on defence, or pride in our military.

We in the Labour Party have deep roots in defending this country. And deep respect for those who serve in uniform.

The scale of the challenges we face requires a national, unified response.

That's why the Prime Minister has been clear that a change of government means no change in our commitment to Ukraine.

It's why I've already offered the Shadow Defence Secretary access to intelligence briefings and will I do so to other relevant members of Parliament.

And that's why the Strategic Defence Review will brief and will welcome contributions from other political parties and from across the defence community.

Because I want to forge Britain's defence strategy, not just the defence strategy for this new Labour Government.

Reassurance, responsibility.

Moving on to the General's next R which is reality.

And as I look around this room, you know better than anyone else, these are really serious times.

We face rapidly increasing global threats.

I became Shadow Defence Secretary back in 2020. That was before the fall of Kabul, that was before the crisis in the Middle East, it was before Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

And in the face of this insecure world, the British Army has done and continues to do incredible things.

And I know during the months and the years that I'll serve in this post I'll continue to be inspired by the things you do.

Vital work. Unique responsibilities. And underpinning it, your historic roots, and traditions.

I respect that as I do for the other Services.

The whole country is proud of what you do.

And as this world becomes more dangerous, we will rely more heavily on your bravery and on your professionalism.

And the principle of One Defence also becomes increasingly more important.

The days when we could indulge in inter-service rivalry are over.

We must be to fit to fight - not fight amongst ourselves.

So, I really want to see the old rivalries left behind. I really want with you to establish a new era for UK defence.

Because we know all three services face very serious challenges.

Hollowed-out forces, procurement waste, low morale. A recruitment and retention crisis.

And veterans who can't access the services they deserve.

And I have to tell you, two weeks into this Government, we now also see that these problems are much worse than we thought.

But we are getting on with the job, we are getting on with the job with urgency.

Backing Ukraine, launching our Defence Review, reconnecting with allies.

We're doing this with an absolute commitment to improving the service life for those in our Armed Forces.

With a “NATO first” defence strategy, because Britain is always stronger when we work with others. And of course, facing up to the reality of Putin's continuing war in Ukraine and his wider aggression.  

So, on my second day in this job, as Jonathan said, I was in Odesa, I spent the afternoon with President Zelenskyy and his team.

We held our bilateral talks, we celebrated Ukraine's Navy Day and he and I visited together injured servicemen in a military hospital.

And again, you in this room know this better than anyone else, the Ukrainians are fighting with huge courage, the military and civilians alike.

But despite the losses, despite the Ukrainian's fight, Russia is far from a spent force; and if Putin wins, he will not stop at Ukraine. 

And this war now is at a critical moment.

So, we are speeding up delivery of aid already pledged by the previous government.

Stepping up support with a new package of ammunition, anti-armour missiles, de-mining vehicles and artillery guns.

And we're confirming £3 billion a year for Ukraine this year and for each of the years ahead, for as long as it takes.

And finally on Friday, I signed, when President Zelenskyy was in Downing Street, a new Defence Industrial Support Treaty which will be the framework through which we and others can leverage export finance and investment finance to help Ukraine.

So, the scale of the challenge we face is vast. And that's why to take this on we need to be at our best.

And that brings me to the final R which is request.

We launched our Defence Review last week. I described it earlier as the first of its kind for the UK, because it is externally led, and led by the former Secretary General of NATO George Robertson.

It will consider the threats that we face, the capabilities that we needed, the state of our armed forces and the resources available to do the job.

And my ask or request of you today is this. It's for the Army to play its fullest part in this review. It's the chance to think afresh, it's the chance to contribute the ideas needed in that review.

Because this is a review that will be done with, not to defence.

It will be done with the Army, not about it.

It's a review that our troops want, our public deserves and our country needs.

And your input in making this a success will be vital.

Why vital? Well, because Ukraine is showing us how the nature of war is changing more rapidly.

How the distance between domains is diminishing rapidly. How the imperative to operate as an integrated force is increasing, and as the threats posed to the UK are increasingly interdependent, reinforcing and converging.

And, as Jack Watling at RUSI who has done so much to organise this conference has argued: We must urgently re-establish credible deterrence to keep these threats in check.

That means looking at firepower, it means looking at enablement, it means looking at readiness, it means looking at resilience.

It means looking at the things that don't present good photo opportunities for a Defence Secretary or a defence minister.

It means the things that matter in getting results, in being more ready to fight, in being stronger, to be able to fight if we need to fight but deter to avoid that fight in the first place.

It also means deeper interoperability with our allies.

And it means industry must also play an integral role alongside the military too.

And these will be at the heart of the matters that the Defence Review considers.

It's fair to say the Army does, and as far as we can see, will always operate as part of a joint forces, fighting not only on the land but from the land

Boosting combined deterrence and operations.

We already have Forward Land Forces permanently deployed in eastern Europe to ensure greater security on the Russian border.

This year we will provide a Land Component for the Allied Reaction Force, providing NATO with a rapid response to crises when needed.

And from the year beyond, 2026, the United Kingdom will lead NATO's Special Operations Task Force, and provide a crucial contribution to NATO's Unconventional Warfare capability.

And then the greatest opportunity of all, to lead within the alliance is through our offer of a multi-domain Corps as one of SACEUR's Strategic Reserve Corps.

Big challenges, big responsibilities, big opportunities for the Army as part of One Defence and a stronger alliance for the future.  

Now this is just our third week in office. We're a government getting on with the job.

But my ambition is to see that Defence is not just integral to the future security of Britain but central also to the future success of Britain.

You, our land forces are essential to that work.

Together, we can and will make Britain more secure at home and strong abroad.