A British Army soldier in full tactical gear (Photo by Mikhail Mamaev/Unsplash)

Lib Dems Urge Burnham to Create Civilian War Volunteer Register

September 21, 2026 O L Evans

Liberal Democrats have called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to set up an emergency register of civilians ready to volunteer if Britain comes under attack.

At the party’s annual conference in Brighton, the Liberal Democrats say the UK “urgently” needs a network of volunteers and that politicians must speak more directly about the dangers facing the country.

Lib Dems, the party of cycle lanes, compost bins, climate emergencies and “can we all just be nice” do not usually do this sort of thing,” so the fact that it has started to asked for a civilian war register means that something has left the seminar room and reached the market towns.

The proposal would let people register their willingness to assist in an emergency.

Specific roles have not been defined.

Leaders are signalling about war but not being explicit about it.

French President Emmanual Macron recently posted “We must remain united in the face of crises” on X.

The main concern cited is a potential Russian attack on a NATO country around 2030.

State media BBC recently said that the UK government wants the public to prepare for severe disruption to daily life. That includes stockpiling canned food and drinking water.

Separate government work includes updating Cold War-era “war book” plans and encouraging households to keep basic supplies for disruption from cyber attacks or other shocks.

The calls hark back to The Protect and Survive pamphlet, produced by Margaret Thatcher’s government during the cold war in 1980, advised people on the safest way to protect themselves after a nuclear attack

The plans come as Russia warned on X it that it could strike British and French military targets both inside and outside Ukraine, following the UK’s pledge to share classified technical intelligence to help Kyiv build its own long-range cruise missiles.

Lib Dems Urge Burnham to Create Civilian War Volunteer Register

READ MORE: UK Ramps Up Emergency ‘War Book’ Plans and Directs Public to Stockpile

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