Majority of Brits assume World War 3 will begin quickly – and navy specialists agree
Brits and experts believe we will head to war within the next five to 10 years with a brand new poll finding that 53% believe it is ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ that we will be dragged into global conflict
WW3 could be here sooner than we think, experts have warned(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Scared Brits believe World War 3 will start within the next few years – and worryingly, military experts agree.
People believe we will head to war within the next five to 10 years with a brand new poll finding that 53% believe it is ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ that we will be dragged into global conflict. The stats show a dramatic 12-point increase since last year and have heightened following Trump’s attacks on Iran. There was also an 11-point rise in the number of Brits who believe the government is handling defence matters badly, with the figure now hitting 56%.
General Sir Richard Barrons, former commander of Joint Forces Command, said that fears about global conflict are well founded due to how ‘small and broken’ the Armed Forces have become.
He said: “We live in a new world of state confrontation and conflict which is unlike the world we knew a few years ago.
“The world used to be regulated by supranational institutions like the UN and a thing called international law, but now we’re seeing big powers shoot up people if they feel like it.
“People are nervous about war on their doorstep because they have seen what is happening in Ukraine and in the Gulf. The public also recognises that the US has decided not to underpin our security as it has since 1949.
“Our security, prosperity and values are at risk and the US isn’t going to bail us out. We must either make some really hard decisions to fix our defence and national resilience, or really bad things could happen.”
According to the poll, more than half – 54% – of the 2,079 British adults who were polled by YouGov last week said they have little to no confidence in the UK armed forces to defend the country in the event of war.
Former army colonel and intelligence officer Philip Ingram MBE agreed he can see troops needing to head ot war soon.
“For the first time ever, I can see a clear path to global conflict,” he said. “Everything that is happening now is bringing us even closer to the possibility. It is a very real and very genuine concern that I have had for a while now.
“Our politicians are failing to recognise the threat building on the horizon from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea all working together, swapping technologies and enabling each other.
“America may have started something it can’t finish in Iran, and things are not going to plan, because they didn’t zoom out and see the wider picture. It makes global war more likely than not.
“This is a very frightening time, I don’t say it lightly, because the last thing that anyone who’s been in conflict would ever want is more conflict. But I think we’re on a path for it.”
Matthew Smith, of YouGov, said the survey comes after well-publicised cuts to defence spending and the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Iran.
