UK has no credible plan to mobilise volunteers in event of war, ex-defence minister admits – UK politics live

The Department for Transport has today launched a consultation on how to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. The previous government originally set 2030 as a deadline, but in September last year Rishi Sunak said he was pushing the deadline back to 2035, as one of various measures he was announcing watering down the impact of net zero rules. In its manifesto Labour said it would restore the 2030 target.

Announcing the consultation, the DfT says:

The 2030 phase out date was broadly supported by industry before the previous UK government extended the phase out to 2035. Currently more than two-thirds of car manufacturers in the UK, including Nissan and Stellantis, have already committed to fully transitioning to electric cars by 2030 …

This consultation is focused on how, not if, we reach the 2030 target. It will give the sector the opportunity to consider how the current arrangements and flexibilities are working, which hybrid cars can be sold alongside zero emission models between 2030 and 2035, and any further support measures to help make the transition a success for industry and consumers.

As Graeme Wearden reports in his business live blog, the automotive industry has welcomed the consultation.

James Heappey, who was a defence minister for the whole of the last parliament, told Times Radio in an interview this morning that that figures about 10,000 members of the armed forces not being medically fit were “very arresting” and a matter of concern. But he also played down the significance of the findings, saying that the figures would include many people deemed unfit just because they had missed dental checks, and that other people with injuries could be deployed in a war. He explained:

Firstly, I’ll bet you that a big chunk of the non-deployable, medically downgraded people are downgraded for dental reasons. And what that tends to mean is that they’ve not had a dental check-up in the last six months, and so they are automatically declared dentally unfit, and therefore not fully deployable.

Secondly, there is a reality about the nature of some of these injuries that mean that they couldn’t deploy to go on a discretionary operation today in peacetime, but if war was to come, then they would be absolutely able to go and fight because the needs of the nation would rather trump that rather discretionary take on their medical capacity.

Al Carns, the former solidier who was immediately made a defence minister after being elected to parliament in the election, disclosed the figures in a parliamentary written answer. According to today’s Times story, Carns also angered No 10 when he gave a speech recently saying the entire army could be wiped out within six months in the event of a Ukraine-style conflict.

In his Times Radio interview, Heappey said Carns was right to say what he did.

In 1914 the British Expeditionary Force was defeated inside the first year and it was a sort of volunteer, conscript army that went on to win the war subsequently.

In 1939, the standing professional army was defeated within a year and onto the beaches of Dunkirk, and then it was a volunteer conscript army, second and third echelon army, that went on to win the war.

So Al is not yet really a fully credentialled politician, he is a senior military officer and he says it exactly as it is. And nobody should find that particularly salacious, those are the realities.

Heappey, who stood down as an MP at the election, also said Britain needed better plans to mobilise volunteers in the event of full-scale war because the current ones weren’t “credible”.

History tells us that the army, navy, air force that starts a war never is the one that finishes it, and at the moment I don’t think the UK has particularly credible plans for developing that second and third echelon that will prove decisive in any national war.

Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch have both released their Christmas messages.

Starmer has been described as Britain’s first openly atheist prime minister. “I am not of faith, I don’t believe in God – but I can see the power of faith and the way it brings people together,” he told a journalist in 2021. (Humanists UK argue that there were several previous PMs who were just as atheist as this.) But his message today has a conventional, Christian-lite tone, mentioning Jesus and stressing the importance of caring for others.

Here’s an extract.

I’d like especially to thank those who will spend their Christmas serving others this year. In our NHS and emergency services, our armed forces and the churches and charities that will welcome every person this Christmas.

Because I know that this is not an easy time for everyone, and my thoughts are with all those who are lonely this Christmas. Having a tough time, missing a loved one. You are not alone.

Because as Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Christmas story reminds all of us to reach out to one another. To care for one another. And to look after those around us.

And here is the video.

Badenoch is also a non-believer, although she describes herself as a “cultural Christian”. According to the recent biography of her by Lord Ashcroft, she lost her faith after reading about the story of Elisabeth Fritzl, who was held captive in an Austrian cellar for 24 years and repeatedly raped by her father. Learning that Elisabeth had prayed to be rescued, Badenoch concluded she could not believe in a God who would ignore prayers like that.

In her message, Badenoch sounds a bit more upbeat than Starmer. And she also stresses the importance of thinking about others.

Here’s an extract.

I think that Christmas is a time for us to reflect on all that’s happened in the year.

Sometimes we have amazing years.

Sometimes, like when I lost my dad, we have difficulty years and we’re commiserating, but we do it together.

But it’s a time for us to support all of those people who need our assistance, who need our help, who need our support. And that’s one of the best things about Christmas, that it isn’t just about all of the things that we love and want to do, but thinking about other people.

And here’s the video.

Good morning. With almost no live politics news, Christmas Eve isn’t the best day for a politics live blog, but Christmas is also the season for presents – offerings prepared and wrapped in advance – and there are some good ones around this morning.

At the Guardian, we are splashing on Anna Isaac’s story saying Thames Water intentionally diverted millions of pounds pledged for environmental clean-ups towards other costs including bonuses and dividend.

And, at the Times, Larisa Brown, the defence editor, has a story saying that one fifth of members of the armed forces cannot be relied upon to fight for health reasons. She reports.

More than 10,000 serving sailors, soldiers and aviators cannot go to war because they have been declared medically unfit, it can be revealed.

In addition, nearly 15,000 troops can only be deployed if the mission meets certain criteria, such as the weather is not too hot or too cold and they are not exposed to noise …

Nearly a quarter of soldiers and officers in the regular army cannot engage in combat without any restrictions and nearly 3,000 sailors are deemed unfit to go to sea under any circumstances.

In the case of the army, 16,335 soldiers are either “medically not deployable” or “medically limited deployable”, out of a total of 71,340 personnel, amounting to 23 per cent of all troops.

The figures come from a parliamentary written answer from Al Carns, the veterans minister to a question posed by Mark Francois, a shadow defence minister.

In its version of the story, PA Media reports:

Service personnel with medical conditions or fitness issues which affect their ability to perform their duties will generally be referred to a medical board for a medical examination and review of their medical grading.

They may be downgraded, to allow for treatment, recovery and rehabilitation and deployability status can be awarded on a temporary or permanent basis.

Deployable is defined as personnel who are able to deploy on operations. Some personnel may have medical limitations which restrict the type or location of operation they can be deployed on.

MoD statistics from April 2024 showed the army fell below its target size for the first time since it was set, meaning all three service branches are currently below target: the Army by 1%, the RN/RM by 5% and the RAF by 10%.

Overall, the UK armed forces were 5,440 personnel (1%) below target.

Commenting on the figures, the Ministry of Defence said:

The vast majority of our service personnel – around 90% – are deployable at any point, with most of the remaining members of our Armed Forces employed in wider military roles. We are committed to providing world-class medical treatment to ensure personnel can return to duty where possible, or to support their transition to civilian life.

I will be wrapping up other bits of pre-Christmas politics news, in so far as there is any, as the morning goes on. But we will be closing around lunchtime.

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