Matching Britain's global ambitions to its armed forces

Britain's claim to remain a front-rank power creates obligations and risks that require military resources. The criticism of the Cameron-era defence cut is that national leadership continued to act on that claim while reducing its means of support. Britain's economic size, population, and organisation underpin the case for retaining substantial global capabilities. The associated judgment is that policy choices squandered industrial infrastructure which could have supported that role. Restoring the relationship between ambition and resources requires attention to that industrial capacity as well as expenditure.