Frequent ministerial turnover leaves little time to understand technical institutions and commitments that last for years. Between 1992 and 2020, Britain had 14 defence secretaries, 11 foreign secretaries, and 16 armed forces ministers. From 2005 onward, the average tenure in the first two offices fell below two years. Democratic accountability remains essential, but rapid replacement weakens continuity and obscures who can answer for choices made over decades.
Chapter · 21:41-25:02
Ministerial turnover weakens defence continuity
Frequent changes of defence and foreign-affairs ministers make it difficult to maintain understanding and accountability across long-lived force programmes.