Britain | Here we go again

Britain prepares for its third defence review in four years

Does it want to remain a serious power on land or sea?

 F-35B re-fuel prior to launch. RFA Tidespring in the background during sunset.
Photograph: UK MOD Crown © 2024

IN WHITEHALL THERE is no pastime taken up with greater enthusiasm than a good policy review. At least a dozen are under way in the Foreign Office alone. China policy is going through an “audit”. The AUKUS submarine deal is being assessed. The crown jewel among all these is the strategic defence review—Britain’s third in four years. As it reaches its denouement, Britain’s armed forces are staring down the barrel of dramatic change.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Here we go again”

From the December 21st 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Britain

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Blighty newsletter: What Westminster gets wrong about Elon Musk

Illustration of Keir Starmer choosing between two shirts - one with red stripes and one with red dots. He looks confused.

The four worst words in British politics 

Saying “not a good look” is not a good look


Protesters holding placards demand urgent action on the city's rising rents.

Inflation in Britain looks irritatingly persistent

Worse, the risk has appeared just as growth is sputtering


Labour lacks good ideas for improving Britain’s schools

Making private ones a bit more expensive is not an inspiring start

Britons brace themselves for more floods

A warming planet is making a soggy island soggier 

Why meal-replacement drinks are shaking up the British lunch

They are being rebranded as aspirational as well as efficient