Most Britons now believe World War III will probably start within the next decade – and military experts agree.
A new poll found that 53 per cent believe it is ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ that we will be dragged into global conflict within the next five to ten years – a dramatic 12-point increase since last year.
There was also an 11-point rise in the number of Britons who said the government is handling defence matters badly, with the figure hitting 56 per cent.
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.
‘We live in a new world of state confrontation and conflict which is unlike the world we knew a few years ago,’ he said.
‘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.’
A new poll found that 53 per cent of Britons believe it is ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ that we will be dragged into global conflict within the next five to ten years (file photo)
General Sir Richard Barrons suggested that global conflict fears are justified because the Armed Forces have become significantly small and broken
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been criticised for his limp response to the Iran crisis, (Pictured: Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer takes part in a meeting with the UK-Ireland Youth Forum Advisory Group, during his visit to Cork, Ireland, on March 12, 2026)
He added the solution will involve ‘taking money out of things like welfare, fixing potholes and the NHS’ sooner rather than later.
More than half (54 per cent) 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.
Reform UK voters were notably less likely to have confidence in the armed forces (22 per cent) than Conservative voters (34 per cent) or Labour supporters (44 per cent).
Former army colonel and intelligence officer Philip Ingram MBE has been analysing hostilities around the world for more than 40 years.
‘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.
