Policy Five

Defence & Security

Proposed Legislation for National Reconstitution: Rebuilding the industrial, digital, and kinetic capacity to deter aggression and defend sovereign interests.

United Kingdom Parliament

National Defence and Security Reconstitution Bill

A BILL TO declare that the defence of the realm is the first duty of Parliament; to establish statutory floors for expenditure; to mandate the expansion of Royal Navy, Army, and Royal Air Force structures; to integrate Anglo-American command architectures; to establish the United Kingdom Cyber Command; to mandate sovereign launch capability; and to provide for industrial mobilisation.

BE IT ENACTED by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Preamble

(1) Whereas the defence of the realm is the first duty of the Crown and Parliament;
(2) Whereas sovereignty requires the material capacity to deter aggression, project power, and sustain conflict;
(3) Whereas the United Kingdom is a maritime, nuclear, and space-capable power with global interests;
(4) Whereas alliances multiply strength but do not substitute for national capability;
(5) Whereas industrial, technological, and human capital are instruments of war;
(6) Therefore this Act establishes permanent structures to rebuild British defence power across land, sea, air, space, cyber, and industry.

Part 1: The Defence Budget Lock

Statutory Defence Expenditure Floor

(1) Total defence expenditure shall not fall below 3.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in any fiscal year, calculated on outturn measures.

(2) Defence expenditure shall be ring-fenced and may not be reclassified, deferred, or offset by accounting measures.

(3) Any failure to meet the floor constitutes a breach of statutory duty, authorising the Secretary of State to draw automatically from the Consolidated Fund to restore compliance.

Part 2: The Restoration of Naval, Land & Air Supremacy

The Naval Glory Mandate

(1) It is the declared object of His Majesty's Government to restore the Royal Navy to a position of global pre-eminence.

(2) By 2035, the Royal Navy shall maintain at minimum:

(a)3 aircraft carriers;

(b)12 nuclear attack submarines;

(d)12 offshore patrol vessels.

Army and Air Force Expansion

(1) The British Army shall be reconstituted to a minimum trained strength of 100,000 regular personnel.

(2) Heavy armour, artillery, and mobile air defence units shall be restored as core sovereign capabilities.

(3) The Royal Air Force shall maintain a minimum of 10 combat air squadrons.

Continuous Shipbuilding & Mobilisation

(1) A new hull for a major surface combatant must be laid down in a British shipyard at intervals no greater than every 12 months.

(2) The National Defence Mobilisation Authority shall maintain plans for rapid industrial surge and reserves expansion to 200,000 personnel.

Part 3: The Anglo-American Elite Training Covenant

Joint Special Forces and Command Integration

(1) The Ministry of Defence is authorised to establish a permanent, integrated training architecture with the United States Department of Defense.

(2) This Alliance Training Programme will co-locate British elite units with US counterparts for 6 months of every operational cycle.

(3) British and US forces may operate under integrated wartime command structures, with default interoperability for targeting and intelligence systems.

Part 4: The British Space Destiny

Restructuring and Funding Uplift

(1) The existing UK Space Agency structure is hereby dissolved and reconstituted as the United Kingdom Strategic Space Command (UKSSC).

(2) The annual budget for the UKSSC is hereby tripled, ring-fenced specifically for launch vehicle development and human spaceflight.

Sovereign Launch Capability Mandate

(1) It is a strategic requirement that the United Kingdom possesses an independent capability to launch heavy payloads into Low Earth Orbit.

(2) The UKSSC is mandated to ensure that a British-built rocket achieves successful orbit by no later than 31st December 2030.

(3) Failure to achieve this milestone triggers automatic programme leadership replacement.

The Starward Mandate (Moon Base)

(1) It is hereby declared that the expansion of the British sphere of influence beyond the Earth is a fundamental national objective.

(2) The Department for Science is charged with the establishment of "Base Britannia" on the Lunar surface: logistics and robotics phase by 2035; permanent habitation by 2038.

Part 5: Cyber & Information Warfare

United Kingdom Cyber Command

(1) A United Kingdom Cyber Command is established as a unified operational command.

(2) Offensive cyber capability is authorised as a standing deterrent and instrument of state power.

(3) Wartime integration of GCHQ, MI6, and Defence Intelligence is mandated under a single operational commander.

Part 6: Industrial Renaissance & Incentives

Defence & Space Enterprise Zones

(1) The Treasury shall designate special Frontier Enterprise Zones around key industrial sites (e.g., Glasgow, Stevenage, Cornwall Spaceport).

(2) Any start-up company incorporated after 2026 that is primarily engaged in aerospace, kinetic defence, or advanced propulsion shall be exempt from Corporation Tax for a period of 10 years.

Fast-Track Procurement for SMEs

(1) The Ministry of Defence is mandated to award at least 35% of its research and procurement budget directly to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups by 2030.

(2) For contracts under £10 million, the standard 18-month procurement cycle is replaced by a Rapid Acquisition Path of no more than 60 days.

Part 7: Final Provisions

State Capacity Reporting

(1) The Secretary of State shall publish an annual Defence Capacity Report detailing force readiness, production outputs, and personnel strength against statutory targets.

Short Title

This Act may be cited as the National Defence and Security Reconstitution Act 2026.