Malcolm Chalmers

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Articles

NATO and Europe first: Britain’s new Strategic Defence Review

3 days ago | ecfr.eu | Malcolm Chalmers |Mark Leonard |Mireia Faro

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What Does ‘NATO First’ Mean for UK Defence?

Oct 7, 2024 | rusi.org | Malcolm Chalmers

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the urgent concerns to which this has led, has reinforced the need to enhance the UK's military capabilities for deterrence of threats against the homeland and NATO allies in Europe. The government is committed to increasing the defence budget from its 2024/25 level of 2.32% of GDP (£57 billion) to 2.5% of GDP (around £75–80 billion if achieved by the end of the decade).
UK Defence Spending Decisions Can’t Wait for the Strategic Defence Review

Sep 9, 2024 | rusi.org | Malcolm Chalmers

On 16 July, Prime Minister Keir Starmer launched the government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR), led by Lord Robertson, previously NATO Secretary-General. The Review has begun by commissioning written submissions from within the Ministry of Defence (MoD), as well as from industry, think tanks and others.
Frank Chalmers obituary

Aug 19, 2024 | theguardian.com | Malcolm Chalmers

My father, Frank Chalmers, was a journalist and political activist who also achieved a degree of fame as a wild swimmer. Always keen to take to the open water, Frank never missed the New Year’s Day “dook” in the River Tay near Dundee, where he was born, and in his 40s embarked on a series of intrepid swimming feats.
No Easy Decisions: Foreign and Defence Policy Under the UK’s New Government

Jul 5, 2024 | rusi.org | Malcolm Chalmers

Malcolm Chalmers8 Minute ReadThe UK’s new Labour government takes power at a time of multiplying foreign and defence policy challenges. Can it steer a course through these choppy waters? Foreign and defence policy issues barely figured in the UK's election campaign. Labour’s position on core issues – NATO, nuclear weapons, defence spending, Ukraine – was hard to distinguish from that of the Conservatives.
What British defence is for

Jun 3, 2024 | prospectmagazine.co.uk | Malcolm Chalmers

In a speech in Warsaw on 23rd April, prime minister Rishi Sunak made an alarming declaration. The world, he said, is “the most dangerous it’s been since the end of the Cold War”. Just as during the decades of hostility between the west and the Soviet Union, preventing a large-scale war between Nato and Russia has taken centre stage in British and European military planning. This new urgency has increased calls for more money.
Committing to 2.5%: Is Help at Hand for the UK's Defences?

Apr 24, 2024 | rusi.org | Malcolm Chalmers

Malcolm Chalmers3 Minute ReadThe recent announcement that the UK will commit to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2030 is welcome news for the country’s armed forces, even if how the increase will be funded remains as yet unclear. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s 23 April announcement of a firm timetable for reaching 2.5% of GDP on defence has been warmly welcomed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) – not least because it is such a dramatic turnaround from the government’s position only last month.
Shapps’s Summit: Priorities for the New UK Defence Secretary

Sep 1, 2023 | rusi.org | Malcolm Chalmers

Grant Shapps’s appointment as defence secretary comes at a critical time for UK defence. Ben Wallace has left a strong legacy, both in relation to support for Ukraine and in his vision for the future of UK defence. But there remains much to do, and this will require a defence secretary who is relentlessly focused on the national interest.
Paying for People in Defence

Aug 29, 2023 | rusi.org | Malcolm Chalmers

The DCPR makes clear that its increased focus on people does not mean that current numbers of service personnel should be maintained. Indeed, the focus on upskilling the defence workforce, along with the separate chapter on productivity, strongly suggests further reductions in personnel numbers – both regular service and civilian – over time. The DCPR hints at this with its argument (p.