The UK’s armed forces are now less than half the size they were in the 1980s, following decades of reductions under successive Labour and Conservative governments, according to the SNP.
The party was citing new analysis it commissioned from the House of Commons Library, released as the UK marked Armed Forces Week, which it said set out the scale of personnel and equipment reductions over more than half a century. The SNP presented the findings alongside its criticism of the UK government’s defence plan, which it said was delayed and underfunded, and pointed to concern that the plan could face further delay following the resignation of Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.
According to the analysis, total active personnel stood at 315,000 in 1979, falling to 210,800 by 1997, 191,710 in 2010 and 138,121 in 2024, before reaching 137,966 on 1 April this year.
The figures also set out reductions in each service over that period, with the Army falling from 156,000 to 74,368, the Royal Navy from 73,000 to 32,516 and the Royal Air Force from 86,000 to 31,082.
On personnel based in Scotland, the analysis put the total at more than 19,000 in 1979, falling to just over 10,000 by 2024 and 9,740 by April 2025. The SNP said a number of historic Scottish regiments had been reduced and amalgamated over that time, including the Black Watch, which now forms part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
On equipment, the party said the number of Royal Navy vessels had fallen from 89 at the turn of the millennium to 57 by 2025. Over the same period, it put the number of destroyers at six, down from 11, frigates at 11, down from 21, and submarines at nine, down from 16.
The SNP added that defence spending had fallen as a proportion of GDP, from 4.6% in 1979 to 2.7% in 1997, 2.5% in 2010 and 2.4% in 2025.
Commenting, the SNP’s Westminster leader, Dave Doogan MP, said: “The Labour government is failing to take national security seriously enough – following decades of Westminster cuts to our armed forces, which have left the UK increasingly vulnerable.”
He added: “By failing to deliver the investment needed, Westminster is putting Scotland’s safety at risk. Keir Starmer lost two defence ministers, and his own job, over his long-delayed and underfunded plans. As he heads to the exit door, it is vital that the next UK Prime Minister urgently gets a grip, delivers the investment required and ensures Scotland gets its fair share.”
Doogan said the SNP had “consistently called for more investment in conventional defence capabilities, and more support for our forces, but instead Westminster has decimated them,” and said the party was urging the UK government to deliver the funding the armed forces needed as Scotland marked Armed Forces Week.
The biggest internal threat to UK national security bemoaning the state of UK armed forces to defend against external threats…..priceless hypocrisy.
Aren’t the SNP leading the innovation in unmanned command vehicles, like camper vans?
SNP have just cancelled a proposed new hospital, after 10 years of planning, as not cost effective for the public purse. First job of devolved government must be the protection of population in support of the UK support network. So how is the cancellation of a critical piece of national resilience infrastructure, to replace crumbling current hospital that the SNP have had oversight for 14 years, not important. Obviously planning to use the Camper Van as a mobile Health Clinic as a replacement option. Fuming!
First job of any Returning Goverment is to cancel any promises it can’t keep…!
All the Defence cuts over the last 20 -30 years have been well trailed and I don’t recall any of the UK political parties voting against the cuts or proposing cutting other spending to keep Defence spending as it was. Even Margret Thatcher, one of the most radical right wing Conservative Prime Ministers, believed that there are “no votes in Defence” and she was lucky the Argentinians only had to wait a few more months for planned cuts in the RN would have made the retaking of the Falklands near impossible.
Closer to one third of what they were in the early 90’s.
SNPs success difficult to Understand…!
Do they put Something in the Whisky 🥃 and Haggis up there ??
The rest must be Really bad…???
They make Starmer look almost Competent..!!!!