Boris Johnson is PM. What now for British military?

With so many changes taking place in Britain’s political arena, there are bound to be changes for the military as well. Boris Johnson won the leadership of the Conservative Party and became the new PM.

Boris has said that military spending would increase so that the country is able to face the ever growing threats that stand in its way. The only question that arises now is, will things really improve for the military?

Johnson’s rival, Jeremy Hunt, said he would increase the military budget by 25% — he gave a solid number that he had in plan. Johnson, meanwhile, never came up with a concrete number, despite the promise of an increase in military spending.

This sort of puts the military in a difficult spot, given that it’s already underfunded and overburdened, the military budget definitely deserves immediate attention. With Brexit looming, Johnson will have to figure out a way that the armed forces are not overlooked by the Treasury.

Johnson has also spoken on the ‘unfair prosecutions’ of soldiers from Northern Ireland. Speaking to the media, he said: “We need to end unfair trials of people who served their Queen and country when no new evidence has been produced, and when the accusations have already been exhaustively questioned in court. We must protect people against unfair prosecutions. And I will.”

These prosecutions have already received a lot of attention as Northern Ireland veterans face charges for their involvement in Bloody Sunday, 1972, which resulted in the deaths of 15 protesters.

On the Royal Navy front, it remains to be seen what Johnson has planned. Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood has spoken about the need for investment in the navy. He’s gone on record and said: “If we want to continue playing a role on the international stage, bearing in mind that threats are changing, all happening just beneath the threshold of all-out war, then we must invest more in our defence, including our Royal Navy.”

The post of Defence Secretary is also something that will probably see a reshuffling. One of the first things Johnson did as PM was offer the post to Jeremy Hunt, who turned it down.

Now everyone’s wondering whether former Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson will be back again after Theresa May sacked him. Williamson was a prominent part of Johnson’s campaign so one wouldn’t really be surprised to see him back.

Johnson has big decisions to make, and many of them will have a serious impact on our service personnel.