24th October 2026
The Government is telling households to prepare for three days of disruption, while military chiefs warn that the public must face up to the possibility of war. Is Britain being given the full picture?.
The Government's new Be Ready campaign asks people to take some simple precautions in case essential services are disrupted. Keep food and water at home, have a torch and a battery-powered radio, keep a power bank charged and make a plan for contacting family members if the phones stop working.
It sounds like sensible, everyday advice. But the timing raises a bigger question. Why is the Government encouraging people to prepare for emergencies just as senior military figures are warning that Britain must take the possibility of war much more seriously?
The answer is that two related programmes are under way. One is presented as practical advice for households. The other involves preparing government, the armed forces and essential services for a much more serious national crisis. Together, they suggest that Britain is beginning to take public resilience and home defence more seriously than it has for many years.
What is the Be Ready campaign?
Launched in October 2026, Be Ready is the first stage of a three-year public awareness campaign. It encourages households to prepare for situations in which services such as electricity, water, telephone networks and the internet might be temporarily disrupted.
The recommended starting point is to have enough basic supplies to manage for three days. These include drinking water, food that does not need refrigeration or cooking, hygiene products, warm clothing, a torch, a radio, a charged power bank and some cash in case electronic payments are unavailable.
People are also encouraged to keep important telephone numbers on paper, consider their household's particular needs and make arrangements with relatives or neighbours to check on anyone who might need assistance.
The advice is not entirely new. The Government has published household resilience guidance since 2024, but the new campaign gives it a fresh identity and is intended to reach a wider audience. More than 500 organisations, including charities and businesses, have signed up to share campaign material. The Government says social media and radio advertising will help reach people over the coming weeks and months.
The immediate argument is straightforward. Severe weather and other emergencies can disrupt everyday services, and households that can manage independently for a short period help emergency services concentrate on people who need urgent assistance.
However, the campaign's launch has appeared surprisingly low-key for an initiative intended to reach millions of people. If the Government wants the public to take preparedness seriously, it needs to make the message visible, explain why it matters and ensure that the advice reaches people who do not routinely follow government announcements.
The military message is considerably more serious
The wider context becomes clearer when the statements of Britain's military leaders are considered alongside the household campaign.
On 16 October, General Sir Roly Walker, Chief of the General Staff and head of the British Army, said political leaders would soon begin a frank conversation with the public about the dangers facing the country and the sacrifices that might be necessary to prioritise defence and security.
Speaking to soldiers at Catterick Garrison, he made clear that Britain could no longer afford to think of war as something that belonged to another time or another place. He said citizens would need to understand the role of the armed forces and play their part in the country's defence.
These were not general comments about keeping a torch in a cupboard. They were a direct warning from the head of the Army that the public must be prepared to confront the possibility of military conflict and the consequences it could bring.
The wider security picture includes Russia's aggression and the threat it poses to Britain and NATO, as well as hostile activity against critical infrastructure and other forms of pressure that may fall short of conventional warfare.
The message is not that war is certain or imminent. It is that the risks have become serious enough for the military leadership to believe that the country needs a more realistic conversation about defence.
Britain is updating its plans for a national crisis
There is also concrete evidence of a wider change in government planning.
In a parliamentary answer published on 20 October, the Government confirmed that it is updating the central departmental contingency plans traditionally known as the Government War Book. These plans are intended to set out how government departments would respond to conflict and threats against the UK mainland.
The work forms part of the Home Defence Programme, which aims to bring civilian and military preparations closer together. The intention is to establish how government and essential services would operate if Britain faced a major crisis, including hostile attacks that could affect the country without necessarily beginning with a conventional military assault.
The Government has also committed to holding the largest UK home-defence exercise in several decades in 2027. Known as Exercise Albiston Shadow, it is intended to test how government and public-sector organisations would respond to serious threats, including hybrid attacks.
This is important because national defence does not depend on soldiers alone. It also depends on functioning communications, transport, energy supplies, food distribution, local emergency services and the ability of government to make decisions when normal arrangements are under pressure.
A country may have capable armed forces but still be vulnerable if essential services cannot withstand disruption.
Why now?
The Government's approach reflects a more dangerous international environment, growing concern about attacks on critical infrastructure and the recognition that modern conflict can affect civilians long before any fighting reaches their homes.
Cyberattacks, interference with communications, damage to infrastructure and disruption to supplies can all put pressure on a country. Severe weather and other emergencies can create similar problems, even without an enemy being involved.
Preparing households for short periods without essential services therefore makes sense in its own right. It also helps build a wider culture of resilience that would be useful in a more serious national emergency.
There is another reason for the changing tone. Strengthening defence requires money, industrial capacity and public support. General Walker's comments suggest that political leaders will need to explain why defence must take priority and why citizens may be asked to accept sacrifices. That could involve difficult choices about public spending and the resources devoted to national security.
What it does not establish is that conscription or compulsory civilian service is about to be introduced. Such conclusions would go beyond the evidence currently available.
What does it mean for Scotland and Caithness?
The practical advice is particularly relevant to rural and remote communities. In Caithness, distance from major centres, severe weather and dependence on road transport can make interruptions to deliveries or essential services harder to manage.
A prolonged power cut could affect heating, lighting, cooking and communications. Problems with mobile networks or internet access could make it difficult to obtain information or make electronic payments. People who rely on regular medication or electrically powered equipment may need additional planning.
None of this means households should panic-buy or spend money they cannot afford. The Government's advice is to check what is already available at home and build up any missing supplies gradually. Some useful steps, such as writing down emergency contact numbers or arranging to check on a neighbour, cost nothing.
But household preparation cannot substitute for proper public planning. Local authorities, emergency services, utility companies and transport providers must also be able to cope with serious disruption. Remote communities should not be forgotten when national resilience plans are developed.
The public deserves a clearer explanation
The Be Ready campaign is sensible, but its presentation risks leaving people with an incomplete understanding of what is happening.
If the Government is concerned only with storms, flooding and occasional power cuts, the household checklist is a reasonable response. But the wider programme includes updated war planning, closer coordination between civilian and military organisations, and a major national exercise in 2027. Military chiefs are also signalling that a more serious discussion about war and national defence is coming.
The Government should explain these developments honestly, without exaggerating the likelihood of conflict or causing unnecessary alarm. It should also explain what it is doing to protect essential services and communities, rather than placing the emphasis entirely on what individual households must do.
Britain is not being told that war is inevitable. It is being told, increasingly plainly, that the country must be better prepared for the possibility.
That is a significant change in the national conversation. The public deserves to understand why it is happening, what sacrifices might be required and how the Government intends to make the country more resilient.
Keeping a few tins in the cupboard is a sensible start. It is not, by itself, a national defence strategy.
Sources: UK Government, “Households encouraged to take small, simple steps to stay prepared in an emergency”, 22 October 2026; UK Parliament, written answer on the Home Defence Programme, 20 October 2026; General Sir Roly Walker's remarks reported by Sky News and Forces News, 15–16 October 2026; UK Government Resilience Action Plan implementation report, 2026.
https://beready.campaign.gov.uk/