Armed Forces Covenant
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The Military Covenant or Armed Forces Covenant is a term introduced in 2000 into
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
public life to refer to the mutual obligations between the
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and the
British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...
. According to ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', "it is an informal understanding, rather than a legally enforceable deal, but it is nevertheless treated with great seriousness within the services". It was coined in , and has now entered political discourse as a way of measuring whether the government and society at large have kept to their obligations to support members of the armed forces. The Covenant is a term used mainly by the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, other British armed forces and the media in relation to the question of adequate safeguards, rewards and compensation for military personnel who risk their lives in obedience to military orders derived from the policy of the elected civilian government. It is argued that armed forces personnel should expect to be treated fairly by
the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
and expect the support of the United Kingdom, society and the government. The
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
states "In putting the needs of the Nation, the Army and others before their own, they forgo some of the rights enjoyed by those outside the Armed Forces. So, at the very least, British soldiers should always expect the Nation and their commanders to treat them fairly, to value and respect them as individuals, and to sustain and reward them and their families." Although the term "covenant" implies some form of legal guarantee or contract, there is in fact no basis in UK law, custom or history for such covenant. Members of the armed forces are recruited and maintained by successive quinquennial Armed Forces Acts as a specific, albeit continuing, derogation from the
Bill of Rights 1689 The Bill of Rights 1689 (sometimes known as the Bill of Rights 1688) is an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of England that set out certain basic civil rights and changed the succession to the Monarchy of England, Engl ...
, which otherwise prohibits the Crown from maintaining a standing army. The Armed Forces Acts guarantee no such covenant, neither do the Notice Papers served on recruits when attested on enlistment. There has been increased media coverage of the so-called military covenant as the government has been accused of failing to meet it; this criticism came from not just the media, but also several previous Chiefs of the Defence Staff said the government needed to do more to help support injured troops and their families. In 2023, the Labour Party's Shadow
Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People is a ministerial position in the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence in British government, currently held by Alistair Carns. From 2022 to 2024, the role was ...
,
Rachel Hopkins Rachel Louise Hopkins (born 30 March 1972) is a British Labour politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton South and South Bedfordshire, formerly Luton South, since 2019. Hopkins was a Member of Luton Borough Council ...
, committed the Party to fully enshrining the Covenant into law under a future Labour government and providing additional funding for mental health provision for veterans.


The Covenant

The introduction to ‘Soldiering – The Military Covenant’ reads:.


History

Recognition of a special bond of mutual obligations between the state and its Armed Forces dates back more than 400 years: a 1593
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
statute provided for a weekly tax on parishes not to exceed 6d on the pound, so that disabled army veterans "should at their return be relieved and rewarded to the end that they may reap the fruit of their good deservings, and others may be encouraged to perform the like endeavours", and it is thought that this "unspoken pact" may date back to the reign of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
. However, it was not until 2000 that the Army published 'Soldiering – the Military Covenant', setting out the obligations on the soldier to make personal sacrifices in the service of the nation, and stated that the armed forces must be sustained by the nation. The code had been drafted over the course of three years by senior officers led by a
Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...
.. The main author was Major-General Sebastian Roberts.. The term 'Military Covenant' was heavily promoted by General Sir
Richard Dannatt General (United Kingdom), General Francis Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt, (born 23 December 1950) is a retired senior British Army officer and member of the House of Lords. He was Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom), Chief of the Gener ...
, who was Chief of the General Staff from 2006.. The existence of government obligations to the armed forces was accepted by the
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
during a keynote lecture on Defence given on 12 January 2007 when he stated that the covenant needed to be renewed, and that "it will mean increased expenditure on equipment, personnel and the conditions of our armed forces, not in the short run but for the long term.".


Political debate

In September 2007 The Royal British Legion launched a campaign which accused the Government of failing to meet its commitments under the Covenant. The Legion highlighted the case of a 23-year-old
paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...
, injured in battle, who was awarded £152,150 despite injuries requiring care for the rest of his life. It also criticised the practice of treating soldiers in wards alongside civilian patients. In his conference speech that October, Conservative Party leader
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
referred to the Covenant and said " Mr. Brown, I believe your government has broken it."". Responding to the Royal British Legion's campaign, the
Secretary of State for Health The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. The in ...
Alan Johnson Alan Arthur Johnson (born 17 May 1950) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2006 to 2007, Secretary of State for Health from 2007 to 2009, Home Secretary from 2009 to 2010, and Shadow Chancello ...
announced in November 2007 that armed forces veterans would get priority treatment on the
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
, and those injured would be treated immediately in hospital rather than go through waiting lists. Prescription charges would also be waived.. A tight budget settlement for the Ministry of Defence in 2007 saw five former Chiefs of the Defence Staff launch personal criticism of
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Gordon Brown in a simultaneous
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
debate.. In upholding the claim of six
Gurkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with the endonym Gorkhali ( Nepali: गोर्खाली ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of North India. The Gurkha units consist of Nepali and ...
soldiers for the right to settle in Britain at the end of their service, Mr Justice Blake's judgment in September 2008 recited the Military Covenant before observing that granting them residence in Britain "would, in my judgment, be a vindication and an enhancement of this covenant".Paragraph 72, Limbu & Ors, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Or
2008 EWHC 2261
(Admin; 30 September 2008).
In opposition David Cameron asked
Andrew Murrison Surgeon Commander Andrew William Murrison (born 24 April 1961) is a British doctor, Royal Navy, naval officer and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament ...
MP to establish the Military Covenant Commission. Chaired by the author and ex-RAF pilot
Frederick Forsyth Frederick McCarthy Forsyth ( ; 25 August 1938 – 9 June 2025) was an English novelist and journalist. He was best known for thrillers such as ''The Day of the Jackal'', ''The Odessa File'', ''The Fourth Protocol'', ''The Dogs of War (novel), ...
CBE and with experts including the Falklands veteran Simon Weston OBE its report heavily influenced the current government's thinking. On 25 June 2010, ''The Times'' newspaper reported that Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to enshrine the Military Covenant in law – such a development would allow British servicemen and servicewomen to sue the State for breaches of the Military Covenant. In February 2011 the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government decided that there was no need to make the Covenant law, proposing instead to cover it in an annual report to parliament – a Labour attempt in an opposition day debate to reverse this was defeated by 86 votes.


References


Further reading

*Forster, Anthony. (2012)
"The Military Covenant and British Civil-Military Relations: Letting the Genie Out of the Bottle."
Armed Forces & Society 38, No. 2: 273–290.


External links

* . * . * .
GOV.UK: Armed Forces Covenant

Armed Forces Covenant: Proudly supporting those who serve
{{British Military British Army Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) Military of the United Kingdom Politics of the United Kingdom