Half of UK forces personnel report low morale

23 August 2012

Half of all British armed forces personnel have complained of low morale, a Ministry of Defence survey has shown, leading to warnings that government cuts have left morale in 'freefall'.

Exactly 50 per cent of the more than 12,000 personnel questioned for the MoD's annual Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) reported low morale in 2012. The figure is up from 33 per cent in 2010, when figures had been improving in the wake of a high of 54 per cent in 2008.

Data from the AFCAS shows that the number of people across the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force reporting high morale has fallen too, standing at 15 per cent, down from 25 per cent in 2010. Again, 2008's survey showed that just 12 per cent of personnel across all three services felt morale was high.

Morale among Royal Marines remained consistently higher than all other branches of service, but just 22 per cent reported high morale in 2012, compared to 35 per cent in 2010. Some 41 per cent of the marines surveyed reported low morale.

Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy said the figures were "a real worry and a terrible reflection of this government's defence policy".

"A vital benchmark of success is our forces' morale and yet it has been damaged and dented by David Cameron and Philip Hammond," he said.

"A botched review and cuts to vital support have made our forces feel under-valued and over-stretched. Cutting the army by 20,000 while we have so many of our forces serving in Afghanistan is a real blow.

"Tough decisions are necessary but they must be taken with respect not recklessness. The whole country will expect David Cameron to sit up, listen and change course in response to this worrying trend."

In response to the figures, defence minister Peter Luff said that he was confident that morale would recover in coming years.

"While morale on operations remains high, we have had to make tough decisions to get the defence budget back into balance, including reducing the size of our armed forces," said Luff.

"Any change like this is bound to create uncertainty, but the resilience of our personnel should not be underestimated.

"We are nearing the end of a very difficult period in defence and hope to see morale slowly recovering over the next couple of years. Our armed forces remain focused on doing their job, whether it is in Afghanistan or at home in the UK for the Olympics."