Britain faces hybrid warfare today. Cyber-attacks, disinformation campaigns, and supply-chain blockades represent a new form of conflict that politicians largely avoid discussing openly, though defense officials treat it as established reality.
Labour MP Calvin Bailey, a former RAF wing commander, argued at a Good Growth Foundation conference that the country should acknowledge it is already at war in this sense. No bombs fall and no sirens sound, making it easy for citizens to ignore by switching off the news. Yet the threat operates continuously through digital channels and information warfare.
Bailey's framing challenges the political establishment to stop skirting the issue and speak plainly about Britain's security environment. The argument suggests two core responses become necessary: acknowledging the reality of ongoing hybrid attack and mobilizing public and institutional resources accordingly.
The gap between defense circles, where this threat assessment is routine, and public discourse remains wide. Hinsliff suggests politicians owe voters clarity about the actual threat level rather than allowing citizens to live in a state of managed ignorance about the warfare already underway.