The Ministry of Defence has announced plans to implement a NATO test for major defence procurement projects.
The initiative will require NATO considerations to be integrated into all MOD investment business cases, ensuring that procurement aligns with alliance goals and commitments.
In response to a written question from Mark Francois MP (Conservative, Rayleigh and Wickford), who asked about plans for a NATO test, Defence Minister Maria Eagle stated:
“We conducted a NATO test in the first 100 days of this Government. As part of that work, we are implementing a NATO test for major procurement decisions by mandating that NATO should be considered in all Ministry of Defence investment business cases. This is in the process of being implemented across the Department.”
The NATO test aims to ensure that major defence projects support the objectives of the alliance, promoting interoperability, joint capabilities, and collective security. By embedding NATO considerations into investment decisions, the UK seeks to strengthen its role as a key contributor to the alliance’s strategic goals.
The decision reflects the government’s commitment to both enhancing the UK’s defence capabilities and reinforcing NATO’s collective strength.
The UK government previously reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to NATO, pledging a ‘NATO first’ defence strategy in an article written by Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey in The Telegraph ahead of the NATO 75th anniversary summit in Washington DC.
According to a press release, this approach underscores the importance of NATO in ensuring the safety and prosperity of the UK and its allies.
In their joint article, Lammy and Healey highlighted the historical significance of NATO, established 75 years ago by British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, who united 12 nations from Western Europe and North America under the principle that “an attack on one is an attack on us all.”
They spoke of the alliance’s expansion to 32 nations and its continued relevance in the face of rising global threats and geopolitical competition.
“The first duty of any government is to keep the country safe and protect its citizens. We cannot have stability and prosperity without security. NATO is therefore the ultimate guarantor of all allies’ ability to live freely and build a secure, more prosperous future for their people,” Lammy and Healey wrote in the press release. They further stated: “Our government’s commitment to NATO is therefore unshakeable. We will have a ‘NATO first’ defence strategy. European security will be our foreign and defence priority. Our commitment to Britain’s nuclear deterrent is absolute.”
The ministers also reiterated the government’s promise to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP as soon as possible and called on all NATO allies to adopt this new target. “We will increase spending to 2.5% of GDP on defence as soon as possible, whilst arguing all NATO allies should adopt this as a new defence target. And we will launch a Strategic Defence Review, so we are fighting fit to defend against any adversary,” they wrote.
Highlighting the strategic threats posed by Russia, Lammy and Healey underscored the necessity of strengthening defences to deter President Vladimir Putin and supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.
They noted their pre-election visits to Kyiv, where they assured Ukrainian leaders of the UK’s steadfast support. “We must strengthen our defences to deter Putin effectively. And we must reinvigorate our support for the brave people of Ukraine, as they defend their freedom against Vladimir Putin’s new form of fascism,” the article stated.
Shouldn’t there be Falkland Islands test too?
‘Has other members of nato got these or something similar? Then we don’t need to buy any.’
A Politician
Nice to see they accept that defence of the realm is the first priority of government. Now could you actually act like it does as well?
‘The first duty of any government is to keep the country safe and protect its citizens. We cannot have stability and prosperity without security’ – and THAT is why we need to vastly increase defence spending to take account of the current circumstances. Governments were quick to cut spending as Cold War peace benefits, they need to be just as quick when the situation changes the other way. I note DT is talking about 5% now instead of 2% of GDP – the US is only on about 3.2% and over half of that is oriented towards China – perhaps he will need to address that first.
Correction; we’re on 2.3%, not 3.2%.
I’m sure we’d all be delighted if defence spending were 3.2% – that’d be around £76 billion per year.
I find it funny that the Orange Shitgibbon says NATO members must spend 5% of GDP on defence but even the US doesn’t do that. The nearest one to that number is Poland.
Well I don’t see any issue with a NATO test as such.
But at the end of the day its yet more soundbytes.
Hiding behind so much % doesn’t cut it either. The CONVENTIONAL military needs sustained increases in investment to increase assets.
Our budget is hamstrung by Nuclear, GCAP, and AUKUS, none of which alone “keep the country safe” and two of which are seen primarily as job creation schemes.
It has long got past the point where one starts to switch off at anything HMG say on defence as it’s just words, there’s no real action, and nothing ever changes.
Whatever one thinks of him, given the news made by even the slightest of Trumps views, I’d be delighted if he hammered HMG on the airwaves, online, and on TV pointing out clearly what’s been cut by HMG since 1997 and to stop the grandstanding, put up or shut up. Act as leaders of the free world, as HMG so love to endlessly grandstand, or go sit over there and be quiet. That would finally put this issue front and centre, politicians hate being embarrassed.
Save WW3, I don’t see what else save wringing their necks will make them wake up?
Back to what Thatcher was about to do in 1981-2.