The strategic defence review

Abstract

Since the announcement that the new Labour Government was to carry out a Strategic Defence Review, there has been much discussion as to how that Review will be conducted and what it should cover. Despite the lack of debate during the election on defence issues, the Secretary of State: threw open the process, asking for public views and input. Here the Secretary of State George Robertson sets out the issues and rationale behind the Review, highlighting the emphasis of Government policy on ensuring Britain's security through capable and relevant forces, and a continuing commitment to collective defence through NATO. Policy and planning must reflect the changed world and the new threats and challenges those changes pose. Britain has long been a force in international politics and security, but she is no longer a superpower. Mr Robertson concludes that the central question of the Defence Review, and through it for the nation, is how much of a role Britain—the Government, the people and the Armed Forces—still wants to play and how much it can realistically sustain.