Is there a solid case for the proposed boost to UK defence spending?
Is there a solid case for the proposed boost to UK defence spending?
Chris Ross, senior vice president at Barracuda Networks, says YES.
It’s time to face up to the reality that we live in an increasingly dangerous world, with cybercrime, global tensions, and sophisticated terrorist attacks placing a huge burden on the security services.
In the last few years, hackers have launched highly disruptive and dangerous assaults on the National Health Service, breached the security of leading businesses, and bombarded critical national infrastructure with countless attacks. A recent FBI report indicated that cyber criminals made profits of at least £2.7bn last year, a figure which will only serve to encourage more attempts to blackmail businesses and governments through ransomware and email phishing attacks.
An increase in defence spending is crucial in order to prepare our armed forces for the inevitable threats posed by the rise of digital warfare, as well as maintaining our traditional security capabilities. Key to this is increasing training so that cyber skills can be harnessed to tackle new threats, without leaving us vulnerable on land, at sea, or in the digital realm.
Laurie Macfarlane, economics editor of Open Democracy, says NO
With a population of just 66m, it is a fantasy to believe that the UK can ever compete militarily with Russia, the US, India and China. Britannia no longer rules the waves — and spending more on defence would be little more than an expensive PR exercise.
This does not mean retreating from the international stage. Today, the biggest threat to our survival is not hostile neighbours, but climate breakdown. The UK gave birth to the first industrial revolution, and an economic system based on the burning of fossil fuels.
Rather than wasting money on imperial delusions, Britain could demonstrate genuine leadership by leading a global green industrial revolution.
Cutting wasteful defence expenditure and reallocating funds towards the zero-carbon transition, at home and abroad, would be a good place to start.
Our grandchildren will thank us for it. Will they thank us for buying more bombs to impress Donald Trump?
Main image credit: Getty