Three per cent of rough sleepers are veterans. According to our latest vendor survey the figure is the same for Big Issue sellers who have previously served in the armed forces.
As Remembrance Day approaches, it’s a fitting time to look at whether sufficient support is available for people dealing with the physical and psychological toll of service and financial fallout.
Keir Starmer told us in October about how the government’s ‘Forces First’ policy was prioritising veterans but charities shared their fears that funding may be cut, just as the government insists they will meet global (read Trump) pressure to increase defence spending to 3.5% of GDP in the next decade. Quite how is not clear. Recruitment is hitting a block. This year, in a shifting world where concerns for our security are growing, 500 more people left the forces than joined.
Ever-more creative recruitment is being used – from fast-tracking “cyber warriors” with digital skills to tackle the new frontier of digital warfare, to sponsoring the premiership, making sure the military is front and centre for a vast number of young people every week.
In this week’s Remembrance Day special, we investigate these issues – and our vendors reflect on what Remembrance means to them.
What else is in this week’s issue?
Daniel and Ronan Day-Lewis on creative collaboration
Anemone is not the first co-creation from Daniel Day-Lewis and his son Ronan Day-Lewis. But it’s the first one they’re sharing with the world. The new film – Day-Lewis junior’s first as a director and his father’s return to acting, eight years after he said Phantom Thread would be his last – debuted last month at London Film Festival. The pair of them sat down with Big Issue and told us all about it.
