Liberal Democrat Mike Martin, a veteran and MP for Tunbridge Wells, said: “Obviously if we get involved in a general war with Russia, we’ll be conscripting the population”
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Pat McFadden discusses prospect of UK conscription
Brits have been warned they would be conscripted should war ever break out with Russia.
Mike Martin, an Afghanistan Veteran and the Lib Dem MP for Tunbridge Wells gave the stark warning as the war in Ukraine shows no signs of an immediate end. Speaking to the Express, he said: “There’s a significant chance that it [war with Russia] might happen so we must be prepared.
“Obviously, if we get involved in a general war with Russia, we’ll be conscripting the population – there’s no question about that,” the Liberal Democrat added.
“Being prepared generates deterrence, which decreases the likelihood [of war]. The whole point about building the military up is it decreases the likelihood of this happening.
“I think that’s an important caveat. I’ve fought in wars, I’m not a warmonger. But I recognise that you’ve got to [pursue] peace through strength.”
But Mr Martin, who served multiple tours in Helmand Province, said there was a chance that the UK could avoid a full-blown war with Russia. He added: “[It is] quite unlikely that we get to that situation of sort of generalised war. I think you can see a space in between here and there, where we are increasing the size of the military quite rapidly.”
The UK armed forces has about 138,00 personnel with about 75,000 being enlisted in the British Army. Former British Army officer and Tory MP for Bournemouth East Tobias Ellwood called on the Government to reintroduce compulsory national service in order to boost the UK’s military capability.
He told the Express: “Of course we need to bolster land, air, and sea but there needs to be greater resilience and readiness from a British perspective to deter.”
There is growing unease about the future defence of Europe as the US pivots towards offering favourable terms to Russia in a peace deal with Ukraine. The US under Donald Trump has made clear it does not want to prioritise the conflict in Europe and instead turn to concerns in the Pacific.
In turn, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has moved to increase defence spending amid uncertainty whether the US would step in to assist allies in Europe should Russia strike again. Mr Starmer has continued to amass allies across the continent as well as in Canada to continue supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression.
On Saturday, Mr Starmer said: “We can’t allow President Putin to play games with President Trump’s deal. The Kremlin’s complete disregard for President Trump’s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace.
“If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious, and enduring peace, if they don’t, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war.”
