Strategic defence review

Approximate read time: 5 minutes

On 9 October 2024, the House of Lords is scheduled to hold a debate on the ongoing strategic defence review (SDR). The SDR was commissioned by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and announced on 16 July 2024.^[1] Labour’s general election manifesto had pledged a new SDR within the first year of a Labour government.^[2] The SDR is to be “delivered at pace” and is scheduled to report to the prime minister, chancellor and secretary of state for defence in the first half of 2025. A call for evidence closed on 30 September 2024.^[3]

The government chief whip has said that the debate on the SDR in the House of Lords on 9 October 2024 would give members “the earliest possible opportunity” to debate the review.

1. What is the strategic defence review?

The SDR’s terms of reference said that the background to the review included:^[4]

• war in Europe
• conflict in the Middle East
• states across the world that are increasingly acting in ways that challenge regional and global stability as well as UK values and interests
• terrorist groups
• hybrid attacks
• instability caused by climate change

The SDR’s purpose is to:

[…] determine the roles, capabilities and reforms required by UK defence to meet the challenges, threats and opportunities of the twenty-first century, deliverable and affordable within the resources available to defence within the trajectory to 2.5%. The review will ensure that defence is central both to the security, and to the economic growth and prosperity, of the United Kingdom.^[5]

The review is examining “all aspects of defence”. This includes inputs from other government departments, agencies and from industry, where they support UK defence. However, “other areas of national security” are outside the scope of the review. The government has described the SDR as “Britain’s review” and not one belonging to the government.^[6] Therefore, it would consult those serving in the military, veterans, MPs on a cross part basis, industry and academia.

The government’s call for evidence set out that “in a first-of-its-kind for UK defence”, the SDR would be headed by three external reviewers:

• Lord Robertson: Former defence secretary and NATO secretary general (review lead)
• Dr Fiona Hill CMG: Foreign policy expert and former US presidential advisor
• General Sir Richard Barrons: Former commander joint forces command and former deputy chief of the defence staff

On 1 September 2024, the government announced the following additional members of the defence review team:^[7]

• Rt Hon Sir Jeremy Quin. A former defence minister in the previous government and former chair of the Defence Select Committee, he also served as minister for the Cabinet Office with responsibility for the government commercial function. The government has stated that he brings significant expertise in acquisition.
• Angus Lapsley CMG. The NATO assistant secretary general for defence policy and planning. The government has stated that he also has over 30 years of experience in the diplomatic and civil services and that he brings significant expertise on NATO.
• Edward Dinsmore. He has led key elements of the modernising defence programme and pan-defence reviews for the chief of defence staff. The government has stated that he brings significant expertise on people.
• Robin Marshall. An industry expert and a non-executive director to the Ministry of Defence’s defence board. The government has stated that he brings significant expertise in industry.
• Grace Cassy. An expert in early-stage technology companies and previously an adviser on national security to former Prime Minister Tony Blair. The government has stated that she brings significant technology expertise.
• Jean-Christophe Gray CBE, LVO. Was previously director of public spending at HM Treasury, spokesperson for former Prime Minister David Cameron, and currently director general for delivery, No 10 and Cabinet Office. The government has stated that he brings significant Treasury and cross-government expertise.

The SDR will cover several themes. These are:

• The strategic and operational context, including the threat picture and the current baseline state of UK defence.
• The major features of the force structure needed to create the necessary integrated multi-domain defence capability of the future.
• The opportunities for modernisation and transformation, and greater productivity, including through the rapid and consistent application of digital age technologies.
• The UK’s international partnerships and alliances, and how these can be strengthened in the cause of collective security and deterrence.
• The approach to be taken to acquisition and support in order to deliver the required capabilities in a timely way, and how to secure the best possible value for money and rapidly changing technology.
• The approach to recruiting, educating, training and retaining the people needed for one defence,^[8] including regular, reserve, civil service and industry. This is to include how service life can be improved for those who commit to serve their country in uniform.
• The defence estate including how it can be modernised and streamlined to support both defence outputs and wider government objectives on housebuilding and net zero.
• The state of the defence technological and industrial base, and the contribution of defence to the government’s growth mission.^[9]

The reviewers also have discretion to expand the SDR to include other issues.

The government has set a number of parameters which set the limits of the SDR. These include that the government has a “total commitment” to the UK’s nuclear deterrent and that NATO would remain the cornerstone of the UK’s defence. In terms of defence funding, the government has said that it would raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, but this would be “dealt with at a future fiscal event”.

The last review of defence took place as part of the Boris Johnson’s integrated security, defence and foreign policy review, which was published in March 2021 alongside the defence command paper ‘Defence in a competitive age’.^[10] In March 2023, the government then published the ‘Integrated review refresh’ and in July 2023 it published a refreshed defence command paper, ‘Defence’s response to a more contested and volatile world’.^[11] For further information on previous defence reviews see the following briefing by the House of Commons Library: ‘A brief guide to previous British defence reviews’, 24 July 2024.

2. Read more

• House of Lords Library, ‘UK defence policy and the role of the armed forces’, 24 August 2023
• House of Lords Library, ‘UK defence policy: International Relations and Defence Committee report’, 14 June 2023
• House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee, ‘Ukraine: A wake-up call’, 26 September 2024, HL Paper 10 of session 2024–25
• Nick Chaffey, ‘What we need from the strategic defence review’, New Statesman, 23 September 2024
• Royal United Services Institute, ‘UK defence spending decisions can’t wait for the strategic defence review’, 9 September 2024
• Lisa O’Carroll, ‘Experts asked to assess strategic threat to UK as part of defence review’, Guardian, 26 August 2024
• Royal United Services Institute, ‘The strategic defence review must put training at its heart’, 13 August 2024
• Chatham House, ‘A new SDR should make increased UK defence spending count’, 29 July 2024
• Frank Gardner, ‘Government launches ‘root and branch defence review’, BBC News, 16 July 2024
• Nick Childs and Ben Barry, ‘UK defence: New options for change?’, International Institute for Strategic Studies, 12 July 2024

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Cover image by Dominic King, UK MOD © Crown copyright 2014 on Flickr.