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Ulviyya Poladova

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Half of Britons say they would never go to war for their country. An Ipsos poll found that although there is strong public support for increasing defence spending, around 48% of respondents said they could not imagine themselves taking up arms.

According to The Telegraph, this figure has remained virtually unchanged since April 2025, despite calls for a "national conversation" on defence issues and growing concerns about threats from certain countries.

Only 36% of respondents said they would be willing to fight.

According to Hamish Mandell, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), questions remain about "the willingness of the UK to fight and sacrifice". However, the Ipsos poll does not indicate that the country would be unable to mobilise in the event of a conflict.

He added that the figures were unlikely to concern military planners, as the main constraint was not finding enough people willing to fight, but rather the challenge of training and equipping them.

Despite some people's reluctance to go to war, the Ipsos survey found that 51% of respondents supported increasing defence spending. This is nearly double the 28% who backed such a move in June 2022.

However, public opinion remains divided over how such an increase should be funded. The most popular proposal was to raise income tax for people earning more than £125,000 a year, supported by 46% of respondents.

Image: Annegret Hilse / Reuters