How cuts to Britain's military mean we no longer rule the waves, with fleet halved since 1990

The number of vessels the Royal Navy can draw on has halved in 25 years, according to official figures.

As of April 2013 there were 11 submarines and 66 ships in the Royal Navy. This is five fewer ships than in 2010, with the number of aircraft carriers reducing from two to zero.

In 1990, the Royal Navy had 138 ships and 33 submarines. This marks a 60 per cent decrease in the number of submarines, frigates and destroyers the navy has, according to Ministry of Defence figures. 

The gradual shrinking of the defence budget has meant that, far from the days when over 2,000 vessels were needed in the effort of World War Two, the Royal Navy's capacity has declined to a point where there are fears that the UK can no longer claim to be the master of the seas in a way in which it once was.

Defence spending squeezes

Overall, Britain's defence spending has been falling for decades, almost halving in the space of 25 years.

Since the end of the Cold War, spending has fallen from 3.8 per cent of GDP, to just 2.2 per cent.

At the same time, we've decided to focus our efforts elsewhere - with expenditure on health almost doubling as a proportion of GDP over the same period, according to data highlighted by the House of Commons Defence Committee. 

Between 1988 and 2013, defence expenditure almost halved as a proportion of GDP, despite new and old risks still threatening the country.

This has severely impacted the British navy's capacity at sea. In 2017, the Royal Navy and Royal Marines collectively commanded 29,580 personnel - lower than both the Army and the RAF.

Aircraft carriers on the way

Despite historic cuts to the defence budget meaning that the Royal Navy has fewer ships to command, two new aircraft carriers are currently being built.

The HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to enter active service in 2020.

It is the most powerful warship ever built by the UK, weighing a huge 65,000 tonnes and with a top speed in excess of 25 knots.

Despite this, the ship has been mocked by the Russian military as nothing more than "a large, convenient target". The HMS Elizabeth would have to rely on the weapons of its F-35B aircraft and escort of frigates, destroyers and submarines when on active service.

Owing to the fact that such supporting vessels now only number a couple of dozen, there are fears that the large aircraft carrier's power would be limited without the support of allies. 

Pressure for increased defence spending

Growing threats from terrorism and states such as Russia and North Korea has prompted calls for increases in defence spending, including from former Defence Secretary Michael Fallon.

Welfare spending is now nearly six times defence spending, while health is nearly four times as high and education is more than twice as high. In the mid-1980s, health and education spending were at similar levels to defence spending.

Julian Lewis MP, chair of the Commons defence committee, previously told The Telegraph: "Quite apart from the figures on our graph, it's worth remembering that in 1995 to 1996, several years after we took the 'peace dividend' at the end of the Cold War, we were not spending the bare Nato minimum of two per cent of GDP on defence, we were spending three per cent of GDP.

"That's the sort of priority we need to defend ourselves properly."

The UK still does meet the Nato target

Despite the fall in defence spending that successive UK Governments have overseen, the UK is still one of the few European countries to match Nato's target of spending two per cent of GDP on defence.

In 2013-14, the UK's defence spending stood at 2.2 per cent, and the Government has committed to the Nato target for the foreseeable future.

However, despite meeting the Nato target, military figures describe such a level as a minimum and urge the Government to do more.

Then-Defence Secretary Michael Fallon previously told Sky News: "The two per cent is a minimum commitment by Nato members. We meet it at the moment. We have also committed to increasing the budget ahead of inflation each year.

"But we are reviewing now the threats to our country, which have intensified in the last couple of years. So we do need to be sure that we have the resources that we need and we should aim to do better."