Verdicts · Defence
Defence referendums: how members voted
Settled referendums
64
since Jun 2026
Votes cast
26,081
all time, on defence
This week
1,779
votes · 1 referendums settled
Written opinions
968
all time, left by voters
Best of each side this week
Most respected on defence this week
Left
- HonestCompass656 respects
- SheerTally3 respects
Centre
- JustFactsNotBeliefs6 respects
- Octig4 respects
Right
- ChasNewport9 respects
- Bearcage8 respects
How defence results lean
This week—Last week—All timeC. RightMost active regions this week
Voters
South East183
Scotland113
North West113
South West107
Yorkshire103
London101
East of England97
West Midlands78
East Midlands70
North East54
Wales42
Northern Ireland18
Votes each week
1,779 so far this week
2,93531 Aug
1,3377 Sept
3,03014 Sept
4,63421 Sept
1,25328 Sept
3,1305 Oct
3,30012 Oct
1,77919 Oct
All-time defence highlights
Biggest landslide
NO 93%
Should the UK suspend its NATO membership whilst Donald Trump is President?
93% of 990 votes went the same way.
Closest result
50 / 50
Should the UK build hybrid warships instead of new destroyers?
Dead level — an exact tie.
Most debated
YES 51%
Should the UK build the proposed ‘Britannia Shield’, an Iron Dome-style national air-defence system?
105 written opinions.
This week
1 settled · 1,779 votes
0%
No
majority
majority
34% Yes
Votes1,779
Skipped26
You—
% voting yes, by leaning
—
—
—
—
—
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H. Left
Left
C. Left
Centre
C. Right
Right
H. Right
Should SAS soldiers face murder investigations over killings during missions against ISIS?
The verdict
No won comfortably, but its most-respected voice conceded the Yes principle: wrongdoing must be investigated. The dispute was over who does it, with one No voter insisting only soldiers can, and one Yes voter insisting on answering for actions.
Last week
2 settled · 3,300 votes
0%
No
majority
majority
26% Yes
Votes1,800
Skipped14
You—
% voting yes, by leaning
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
H. Left
Left
C. Left
Centre
C. Right
Right
H. Right
Should the UK have to hold a referendum before going to war, unless it is attacked first?
The verdict
Voters overwhelmingly rejected a war referendum, and the best-rated line was a rebuke: “you lost the election, get over it.!” Even sceptics of the elite said war won't wait for a ballot.
0%
No
majority
majority
41% Yes
Votes1,500
Skipped141
You—
% voting yes, by leaning
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
H. Left
Left
C. Left
Centre
C. Right
Right
H. Right
Should the armed forces cut the number of senior officers?
The verdict
Voters comfortably rejected cutting senior officers, yet the Yes side had the best jibe: “The Navy with more Admirals than Ships.” The No case answered with a different fix: more troops, and experience kept for a rapid expansion.
Every defence verdict
- Should SAS soldiers face murder investigations over killings during missions against ISIS?NO 66%1,779 votes · 20 Oct
- Should the UK have to hold a referendum before going to war, unless it is attacked first?NO 74%1,800 votes · 19 Oct
- Should the armed forces cut the number of senior officers?NO 59%1,500 votes · 16 Oct
- Should everyone pay a dedicated tax to fund the UK’s defence?NO 82%1,607 votes · 12 Oct
- Should the UK build the proposed ‘Britannia Shield’, an Iron Dome-style national air-defence system?YES 51%1,523 votes · 7 Oct
- If IRGC involvement in the RAF Fairford bomb plot is proven, should the UK take military action in response?NO 54%1,253 votes · 29 Sept
- Does the Chagos Islands deal threaten UK-US security ties?YES 77%1,174 votes · 26 Sept
- Should the UK establish a "National Centre for Information Defence" to counter foreign information attacks?YES 54%1,172 votes · 25 Sept
- Should able-bodied migrants serve in the military during a wartime emergency?YES 67%1,146 votes · 25 Sept
- Should Britain be giving military support to Saudi Arabia to fight the Houthis in Yemen?YES 60%1,142 votes · 23 Sept
- Should the UK train a civilian reserve now rather than wait until war makes mass mobilisation necessary?YES 60%1,113 votes · 21 Sept
- Should the UK suspend its NATO membership whilst Donald Trump is President?NO 93%990 votes · 19 Sept
- Should the government delay ordering new Royal Navy attack submarines to reduce pressure on public finances?NO 79%927 votes · 17 Sept
- Should people have a right to say no to conscription without punishment?YES 65%731 votes · 12 Sept
- Should new public infrastructure projects include dedicated funding for civil defence shelters?NO 60%606 votes · 8 Sept
- Should the UK stop working with the US on the replacement of Trident in favour of a European joint venture?NO 55%597 votes · 7 Sept
- Should the UK defend the Falklands from its requested recovery from the Argentine President?YES 92%606 votes · 7 Sept
- Is the government right to tell the army to stop non-essential training exercises to save money?NO 79%593 votes · 6 Sept
- Is delaying a firm date for 3% defence spending the right choice?NO 72%567 votes · 4 Sept
- Should a form of national service be introduced to help fix a divided nation?NO 58%572 votes · 3 Sept
Show all 64 verdicts ↓
- In the event of an armed conflict and assuming you are physically able, would you voluntarily join the UK military?NO 62%429 votes · 29 Aug
- Can the UK still recruit, retain and defend itself militarily if national unity has weakened?NO 64%291 votes · 24 Aug
- Should the UK send Ukraine more drones to strike targets inside Russia?YES 57%275 votes · 23 Aug
- Should the UK invest more in climate adaptation than in increasing military spending to 3% of GDP?NO 67%264 votes · 17 Aug
- Should the UK armed forces be deployed to protect national borders and assist checks at airports & coach, railway hubs?YES 56%268 votes · 16 Aug
- Should the United Kingdom increase spending on defence of the realm?YES 73%187 votes · 10 Aug
- Should the UK independently seize frozen Russian state assets to fund support for Ukraine?YES 58%179 votes · 10 Aug
- Should the UK develop an indigenous submarine nuclear missile delivery system independent of the USA?YES 69%149 votes · 7 Aug
- Does Russia's missile attack on Kyiv demand stronger UK support for Ukraine?YES 55%154 votes · 5 Aug
- Would launching the biggest peacetime rearmament make Britain safer?YES 68%132 votes · 28 Jul
- Should we reintroduce national service?NO 51%132 votes · 27 Jul
- Should the Ministry of Defence reimburse early years childcare costs for service families in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?YES 63%114 votes · 26 Jul
- Should the UK recast its fiscal rules to fund higher defence spending?YES 64%135 votes · 24 Jul
- If Argentina were to invade the Falkland Islands again, would you support the use of force to recapture them?YES 85%120 votes · 23 Jul
- Do the British armed forces have sufficient independent capability to defend the UK from major attack without NATO suppo?NO 84%114 votes · 23 Jul
- Should the UK continue producing artillery gun barrels in Britain for Ukraine?YES 66%93 votes · 22 Jul
- Should Bulgaria allow up to eight US tanker aircraft to be stationed at Bezmer military base?YES 69%70 votes · 22 Jul
- Should Britain take back full control of its nuclear deterrent?YES 86%96 votes · 22 Jul
- Should the government spend an extra £15bn on defence from 2026 to 2030?YES 72%93 votes · 21 Jul
- Should the forces stay out of pride month?YES 63%104 votes · 21 Jul
- Should the UK further develop its nuclear capability for defence?YES 61%176 votes · 19 Jul
- Should the UK defence budget be judged by military readiness and capacity rather than just spending levels?YES 90%60 votes · 18 Jul
- Should Parliament approve the designation of Iran's IRGC and HAYI as terror groups?YES 83%58 votes · 16 Jul
- Would hitting 3.5% GDP on defence justify cuts elsewhere in public spending?YES 63%111 votes · 15 Jul
- Should the UK implement the 2025 strategic defence review's warfighting readiness reforms?YES 74%69 votes · 15 Jul
- Should the Defence Investment Plan prioritise turning spending into measurable military capacity over setting higher GDP percentage targets?YES 68%69 votes · 15 Jul
- Would higher NATO defence spending demands from Trump make Britain safer?YES 68%111 votes · 15 Jul
- Should the forces stay out of pride month?YES 63%89 votes · 12 Jul
- Does the UK need greater parliamentary scrutiny of its defence spending plans?YES 72%43 votes · 12 Jul
- Should the UK increase defence spending to meet NATO's new commitments?YES 76%45 votes · 11 Jul
- Should the UK government issue war bonds to fund its £300bn defence spending commitment by 2030?YES 51%43 votes · 10 Jul
- Should the UK government increase defence spending to 3% of GDP?YES 92%36 votes · 7 Jul
- Should the UK reduce its defence spending to fund more on employment, welfare and growth?NO 85%34 votes · 7 Jul
- Should the UK be focusing more on defence than welfare?YES 74%54 votes · 5 Jul
- Should the government spend an extra £15bn on defence from 2026 to 2030?YES 63%75 votes · 5 Jul
- Should the UK adopt a Hybrid Navy model under the 2026 Defence Investment Plan?YES 62%34 votes · 3 Jul
- Would Keir Starmer's defence spending plan leave a £5bn shortfall for his successor?YES 58%31 votes · 3 Jul
- Should the UK commit £8.6 billion to the Global Combat Air Programme?YES 63%19 votes · 2 Jul
- Should UK defence spending rise to nearly £80bn a year by 2029?YES 76%17 votes · 2 Jul
- Should the UK adopt the £13.5bn defence investment plan?YES 53%19 votes · 1 Jul
- Should the UK build hybrid warships instead of new destroyers?TIED30 votes · 30 Jun
- Should the next prime minister increase defence spending to meet the Moscow test?YES 86%21 votes · 30 Jun
- Should the UK create a climate security taskforce?YES 54%13 votes · 28 Jun
- Should the British Army buy 270 Toyota Hilux 4x4s for 11 Brigade?YES 63%27 votes · 27 Jun