Lords debates resilience of UK's Armed Forces
27 January 2023
On Thursday 26 January, members of the House of Lords debated the level of resilience of the Armed Forces, given the reduction in personnel and equipment as set out in the 'Defence in a Competitive Age' command paper (CP 411), published on 22 March 2021.
Lord Robathan (Conservative), member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Armed Forces and former Minister of State for Defence in the House of Commons, put forward the debate.
This was a general debate. During debates, members put their experience to good use to discuss current issues and draw the government's attention to concerns.
Members speaking
Members speaking in the debate included:
- Earl Attlee (Conservative), former officer in the Territorial Army
- Lord Craig of Radley (Crossbench), former Chief of Defence Staff in the Ministry of Defence
- Baroness Smith of Newnham, (Liberal Democrat), Liberal Democrat spokesperson for defence, and member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Defence
- Lord Robertson of Port Ellen (Labour), former Secretary General of NATO.
Lord Peach (Crossbench), former Chief of Defence Staff, and Lord Hintze (Conservative) gave their maiden speeches in the House of Lords.
Baroness Goldie (Conservative), Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence, responded on behalf of the government.
Get involved
Watch and read the debate
Find out more about the issues discussed: catch up on Parliament TV or read the Lords Hansard transcript.
Explore background information
Find out more about the issues the debate covers in the House of Lords Library briefing.
Learn more about how the House of Lords checks and challenges government.
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