Why Britain Needs a National Resilience Service Now More Than Ever

Jan de Vries · 2026-08-11

When crisis hits, the first thing you notice is the chaos. Hospitals get overwhelmed, supply chains break, and the military gets stretched thin trying to fill gaps that shouldn't exist in the first place. That's the reality Phil Cleary is tackling head-on with his proposal for a National Resilience Service in Britain. It's a big idea, and it's one that deserves more attention than it's getting. Let's break down what this could actually mean for public services, the armed forces, and everyday citizens who just want to feel safe when things go wrong. ### What Exactly Is a National Resilience Service? Think of it as a dedicated civilian force that steps in during national emergencies. Not a replacement for the military, but a complement to it. The core idea is simple: create a trained, organized body of people who can support hospitals, maintain critical infrastructure, and assist local communities when disaster strikes. Cleary's argument is that Britain's current approach is reactive. We wait for something to happen, then scramble to respond. A National Resilience Service would flip that script, building capacity before it's needed rather than after. ### The Strain on Public Services Here's the uncomfortable truth: Britain's public services are already running hot. The National Health Service faces record waiting times, local councils are cutting budgets, and social care is in a state of perpetual crisis. When an emergency hits, these systems don't have the slack to absorb the shock. A National Resilience Service could change that dynamic. Imagine having trained volunteers and professionals who can be deployed to assist overwhelmed hospitals during a flu pandemic or a heatwave. They wouldn't replace doctors or nurses, but they could handle logistics, patient transport, and administrative tasks that free up clinical staff to do their actual jobs. The same logic applies to other services. When floods ravage communities, who coordinates the sandbagging, the evacuations, and the temporary housing? Right now, it's often a patchwork of local authorities, charities, and whatever military units happen to be available. A dedicated service would bring order to that chaos. ### Supporting the Military One of the most compelling parts of Cleary's proposal is how it would relieve pressure on the armed forces. Right now, when Britain faces a national emergency, the military gets called in for domestic support. That's fine in moderation, but it's not sustainable. Every soldier deployed to flood relief is a soldier not training for their primary mission. Every Royal Navy ship diverted to humanitarian work is a ship not available for NATO operations. A National Resilience Service would take on these domestic tasks, allowing the military to focus on defense and security. That's not just good for the armed forces. It's good for national security as a whole. A military that's constantly distracted by domestic emergencies is a military that's less prepared for real threats. ### What Would It Cost? Let's be honest, this isn't going to be cheap. Building a new national service requires funding for training, equipment, and coordination. But here's the thing: the cost of inaction is likely higher. Consider the economic damage of a major pandemic or a catastrophic flood. The disruption to businesses, the strain on public health, the lost productivity. These costs run into the billions. Investing in a resilience service is like buying insurance for the whole country. There are also opportunities to make it cost-effective. The service could draw on retired professionals, reservists, and volunteers who already have valuable skills. It could partner with private companies that have expertise in logistics and infrastructure. The model doesn't have to be a massive standing army of bureaucrats. ### A Question of Priorities Critics will say Britain has bigger problems to worry about. And they're not wrong. Housing, healthcare, and education all need attention. But resilience isn't a luxury. It's a fundamental part of what makes a society function. When the next crisis comes, and it will come, Britain has a choice. It can repeat the cycle of scrambling and improvising, or it can have a system in place that's ready to respond. Phil Cleary's proposal isn't just about being prepared. It's about being smart. A National Resilience Service could be the difference between a crisis that's managed and a crisis that spirals out of control. That's not a niche concern. That's something every citizen should care about.