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A call to action has been made by the Lib Dems to attract new soldiers by offering a £10,000 bonus to rapidly bolster troop numbers in anticipation of an increasingly unpredictable world. Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Lib Dems, proposed that the government should take measures to ensure every British home is “war-ready” to handle potential blackouts and chaos resulting from conflicts or cyber-attacks. The Lib Dems believe that implementing these plans will help elevate the total number of trained soldiers from just under 71,000 to over 73,000.
Sir Ed highlighted the imperative need for improved preparedness in the UK in light of what he described as the “barbaric” Russian President Vladimir Putin and the “erratic” US President Donald Trump. During a visit to Estonia, Sir Ed observed British troops stationed on Nato’s “frontline with Russia,” reinforcing his stance on the necessity for enhanced readiness in the face of potential threats. He stressed the significance of a comprehensive strategy that involves public awareness campaigns aimed at every household to ensure preparedness for various scenarios of conflict or hostile acts.
Under the proposed scheme, new recruits would be entitled to a £10,000 bonus upon completion of training and two years of service, while former armed services personnel opting to return for an additional two years would receive a £20,000 payment. Additionally, the scheme would encompass 3,000 personnel, including fresh recruits and re-enlistees, with its £60m cost to be covered by the primary defence budget. The Lib Dems have advocated for an increase in defence spending to 2.5% of national income by 2027, to be funded through an upward adjustment in the Digital Services Tax.
In a bid to address the current shortfall, the Lib Dems propose that the bonus scheme be instrumental in expeditiously augmenting the number of trained UK regular soldiers to 73,000. This initiative aligns with the objective to boost the size of the regular army to 76,000 full-time soldiers post-2029, though the funding remains pending. Labour, on the other hand, has signalled plans for a 20% increase in Active Reserves in the future, while the government is actively seeking to revamp military homes with an allocated £7bn funding by 2025. The ongoing consultations aim to ascertain the optimal strategy to stabilize troop numbers and enhance the overall preparedness of the UK armed forces
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