As tensions continue to mount over the war in Ukraine, army insiders have revealed the shocking reasons behind our dwindling Armed Forces.
The British Army currently stands at a little over 70,000 personnel, its smallest size since the Napoleonic era over 200 years ago when Britain’s total population was just under ten million people.
It is projected to dip below 70,000 next year, meaning the entire Army- whose job it is to protect Britain from the might of enemies like Russia and North Korea- could fit into Wembley with 20,000 seats to spare.
The paltry size of our Army in comparison to that of Russia’s (1.3million- 18.5 times larger) has been a point of fierce debate over the last weeks after Keir Starmer said he was ready to put ‘boots on the ground in Ukraine’ to protect a peace deal.
Comparison of UK and Russian Army sizes
GBN
Critics laughed at Starmer’s ‘grandstanding’ and pointed out Britain could probably deploy a maximum of 25,000 troops at any one time in Ukraine on rotation, well under President Zelensky’s belief that 200,000 troops would be needed to police a ceasefire.
British troops, while well trained, would hardly make a difference when Ukraine is fighting on a 650-mile frontline (50 miles longer than the entire length of the UK).
Crudely speaking, deploying 25,000 troops to police the frontline would mean adding roughly 38 soldiers per mile of frontline, which would make little difference against the Russian war machine, and that’s not including the fact many soldiers would be well behind the front.
There is also the fact Ukraine has suffered 70,000 casualties since the war began meaning if British troops were to be fighting a similar war with Russia, it would be wiped out in three years.
Commentators have highlighted that with the Ukraine war reaching a critical juncture, politicians and voters are waking up to the terrifying reality that for almost every year in the last two decades, the British Army has shrunk, leaving us highly vulnerable.
Given the perilous geopolitical situation and Starmer’s commitment to increase defence spending, it would be natural to assume Army recruitment is flat out.
Starmer’s spending uplift falls far short of Trump’s expectations for Nato spending, but is higher than most European countries
PA
However, the reality appears to be very different. GB News has spoken to two people trying to join the Army who have both reported slow, frustrating application processes.
Ryan Holloway, 24, from south Wales is currently trying to join the Army as an officer. He told GB News: “I made my initial application to join in August 2024.
“Since then, there have been loads of multiple week periods with no update from the Army on the process of my application, just silence.
“I’ve had one medical and one interview, that’s it, otherwise it’s just waiting.”
For context, Ryan is a British passport holder, medically fit and has no criminal record or offences that you could expect to cause delays.
“Sometimes they set you tasks to do online but when you complete them, the system doesn’t register it, so you are emailed constantly to finish it,” he said.
“The whole system is clunky and inefficient, it doesn’t inspire confidence.”
Asked if the delays have affected motivation to join, Holloway said: “I guess it does, I just don’t really know what’s going, that’s the worst part.
“If I wasn’t going for the army, I would probably just be applying to other jobs by now it’s been so long.
“But it’s not that easy because I don’t know how long I’ll be waiting. They could start my training in a few weeks and then I would have to leave another job at short notice.
“Or it could be months and I would have been better off working a stop-gap job.”
It comes as all three services continue to consistently miss recruitment targets.
Recruitment targets are being missed consistently by all three of Britain’s services
Recruitment targets are being missed consistently by all three of Britain’s services
Army Officers hold leadership roles that usually require more training than more basic soldier roles.
But even joining as a soldier can take equally long. Tom Flynn, who is joining the Royal Signals as a power engineer, had to wait eight months before beginning initial basic training.
“Surely joining the army and beginning training should be a simple process?” he asked.
“If we want to increase Army personnel this system has to be changed. Imagine if Britain actually had to increase the size of its Army to respond to a crisis, it would be at least a year before any new recruits would actually be trained and ready to fight.”
Reacting, Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge MP said: “It’s obviously concerning to hear about these cases, and I sympathise with the individuals concerned who just want to serve their country.
“In Government we commissioned the Haythornthwaite review which recommended a radical overhaul of military recruitment and retention, and so I’ve tabled a series of Parliamentary questions to understand what Labour are doing to implement the report’s recommendations.
“In Government we also commissioned the Armed Forces Recruitment Programme, which was recently signed under Labour and is designed to streamline the process across defence.”
Last month, Labour Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard announced the Armed Forces Recruitment Service (AFRS), a new scheme that will launch in 2027 to try and speed up recruitment.
The scheme will replace the individual schemes run by the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force and, according to an MoD press release, the new contract ‘will ensure better value for taxpayer money and better outcomes for our Armed Forces’.
“The first-ever tri-service recruitment service will provide a streamlined, single-entry point for prospective recruits, with the aim of attracting the best talent from across the country into the Armed Forces to strengthen national security as the foundation of the Government’s Plan for Change,” continued the press release.
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The British Army is the smallest it has been since 1780 when our population was 9 million
GETTY
The MoD also announced their new ambition to ‘make a conditional offer within 10 days of application’ and a confirmation of a training start date ‘within 30 days’.
As the report stated: “Under the innovative new recruitment service, candidates will complete one application and one medical evaluation via a single, digital system – offering a more straightforward process that seeks to retain applicant interest.
“The digitally enhanced process will see applications reviewed, offers made and training begin at a faster pace than individual services currently.”
But the scheme is still very much in it infancy and is not being rolled out for another two years. Critics have been quick to point out Putin could have conquered the rest of Ukraine and moved onto his next targets by then.
It comes after Keir Starmer increased defence spending from 2.3 to 2.5 per cent by slashing the foreign aid budget, a move that helped give Labour a bounce in the polls.
Starmer has committed to raising defence spending to 3 per cent in the next parliament- far higher than most major European countries- but still not enough to reverse ‘decades of underfunding’, top military chiefs have warned.
US President Donald Trump wants NATO members to spend 5 per cent on defence, meanwhile.
One serving soldier who has completed multiple tours of duty across the world said: “The Americans are absolutely correct to call upon us to increase our spending.
“It is embarrassing, even in the Gulf (nearly 20 years ago, where the soldier served two tours), they jokingly referred to us as ’the borrowers’ as we could not even fully support our own soldiers, even on operations!”
The soldier, who had to remain anonymous for security reasons, continued: “The situation has significantly worsened since then with empty sheds and depleted armouries and much of what is in the cupboard is outdated.
“PM Starmer will be shocked at the actual size of the force we can deploy to peace keep from this hollow baseline.
“The House of Lords and ex chiefs are correct- 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence will be irrelevant, it needs to be 3 – 4per cent just to backfill the hole.
“Sorry to be so negative but the army is a ‘paper tiger’ and we need to scream it loud and clear to the public and once again prioritise defence spending.”
The MoD did not respond to GB News’ request for comment.
