From Army service to NATO work
Farage presented MacIntyre's 40-year military career as evidence of Reform's commitment to the armed forces. He said MacIntyre had "more experience than the entire government defence team combined" and described the appointment as part of an effort to recruit people with practical, senior-level experience rather than career politicians.
MacIntyre joined the British Army in 1986 and transferred to the RAF Regiment in 1999, according to The Independent. His Army service included the 17th/21st Lancers and the 1st Battalion The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, as well as attachments to the Royal Marines and Parachute Regiment. He deployed to Arctic Norway, Northern Ireland and the jungles of Brunei.
His subsequent operational tours included Afghanistan, Kuwait, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Iraq and Somalia. The Daily Mail reported that MacIntyre, a Northern Ireland veteran and married father of two, also worked for the United Nations in Somalia.
Since Russia's invasion in 2022, MacIntyre has worked in support of Ukraine. At NATO headquarters in Brussels, he supported the UK Military Representative to NATO, and he received a commendation for his work in Kiev.
MacIntyre and Farage have taken different public positions on women in combat roles. The Independent reported that, as chairman of the RAF Commando Association in March 2024, MacIntyre urged support for women applying for commando training and noted that the RAF was progressing more slowly than other services. Farage said in 2010 that he did not think women should serve alongside men in those roles.
Larger home loans for serving personnel
Reform wants to increase the interest-free loans available through Forces Help to Buy to as much as a service member's full annual salary, subject to a £50,000 ceiling. The current scheme limits borrowing to half of annual salary, capped at £25,000. Personnel generally repay the money over 10 years using post-tax income.
The party put the annual cost of its proposal at up to £80 million once fully established. It also pledged to remove the additional tax associated with the loans and have the government fund the insurance coverage for which borrowers currently pay a small monthly surcharge.
Under existing rules, HM Revenue and Customs treats a loan above £10,000 as a "beneficial loan" and a taxable benefit-in-kind. Borrowers therefore owe tax on the interest they would otherwise have paid on a commercial loan. The separate insurance surcharge covers death in service or severe disability.
Farage linked the housing proposal to an accusation that Labour was "betraying" service personnel and veterans. He accused the government of inadequately funding defense and failing to address veteran homelessness while choosing to fund illegal migrants. He said Reform's plans would enable a much larger share of serving personnel to own their homes outright and help end veteran homelessness.
Prosecution pledge faces objections from veterans
Writing in the Daily Mail as his appointment was announced, MacIntyre said a Reform government would act within its first 100 days to pardon veterans convicted simply for carrying out orders, end ongoing prosecutions and prevent further prosecutions of British soldiers unless the defense secretary explicitly consented.
Former cavalryman and campaigner Paul Young objected to giving that decision to a politician rather than a legal authority. He said he could not endorse the policy as worded and instead favored having a Supreme Court judge decide whether cases should proceed, requiring new, compelling and extraordinary evidence.
Former Army intelligence officer Philip Ingram also challenged the proposal, saying he did not believe a legal mechanism existed to deliver what Reform was promising.
Spending plans and political criticism
Reform says it would raise defense spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 and 3.5% by 2035, matching commitments from Labour and the Conservatives. To help pay for the increase, the party is calling for reductions in the UK's £330 billion welfare budget.
Labour's minister for defense readiness and industry, Luke Pollard, attacked Reform's record, saying the party had taken "nearly 2,000 days" to appoint someone focused on defense. He called that delay "an utter dereliction of duty" by Farage.
Pollard said Reform's "Defenceless Plan" would "wave a white flag to our enemies" and weaken Britain's international standing at a time when, he said, Labour had rebuilt its reputation. He also accused Farage of having "spent years parroting Kremlin talking points" and said the party's former leader in Wales was in prison for accepting pro-Russian bribes. Pollard argued that national security should be the first duty of any government or party seeking office.
Labour also cited analysis by The Independent of parliamentary activity between July 2024 and July 2026. It found that Reform MPs participated in fewer than a third of more than 200 defense debates and question sessions. Farage participated in 10, nine of them concerning the future of the Chagos Islands.
Conservative shadow armed forces and veterans minister Mark Francois raised a different objection to MacIntyre's appointment: he is not a parliamentarian. Francois said MacIntyre therefore could not challenge Ministry of Defence ministers at the despatch box or in parliamentary debate, a responsibility he said belonged to the real shadow defense team.
