This is because it is easier to cheer-lead than to actually prepare for war. The size of the actual fighting force would not fill Wembley stadium.
Grant Schapps is rather like Josep Borrell and Jens Stolenberg. Lots of talk, as long as someone else does the work and does the paying....
Please recall that that same UK intelligentsia urged the lockdowns during Covid, much to the detriment of whole economies.
I read an article several years ago that said the US Marines had more planes, ships and men than the UK in all its services. The UK, like other European powers has been funding its socialist policies off the military budget for a very long time. This is why they never meet their agreed NATO spending target of 2 percent. And, why they can’t. Any government that cuts the food stamps, fuel support or Viagra supply to the public will be out of office by the end of the week. If the Russians were on the border of each country and ready to invade, you’d see surrender negotiations as each country sent a delegation to Moscow to see what kind of deal they could make. Every socialist country runs into this issue. Only having police willing to beat and kill people would hold them together. Several countries have apparently floated proposed arms deals should Trump get into office... where they up their support of Ukraine but still don’t hit the 2 percent target. This, to maintain the US umbrella that allows them to remain socialist freeloaders on the US taxpayer.