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It’s Armed forces week this week & I’ve just come from the Chamber where there is an Opposition Day Debate on Defence Spending and Readiness & Labour are in a right tailspin on this & over their defence strategy & spending plans. Whatever money Starmer was trying to pretend... show more

Esther McVey

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10,989 views • 22 days ago •via X (Twitter)

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'Did it come as a surprise to Andy Burnham?' On #BBCBreakfast defence minister Luke Pollard was asked if Keir Starmer's likely successor was told about the funding plans for an extra £15bn spending in the Defence Investment Plan - of which £4.7 will have to be found at the next Budget

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This week's episode of our podcast The State of It with the brilliant Lara Spirit * Inside the bitter Cabinet splits over the defence investment plan - why nobody is happy * Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce a £13.5billion increase in defence spending - far less than previously considered * John Healey, the defence secretary, has warned that this will not be enough and that it risks undermining our credibility in Nato. Defence chiefs had originally asked for £28billion * The Treasury is also said to be pushing for a "planning assumption" that Britain will only meet its target of spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence up from current levels of 2.3 per cent in 2034/35. Healey is concerned that this is not soon enough, given the scale of the threat Britain faces, and has so far refused to sign it off * Talks are going down to the wire. The launch of the Defence Investment Plan was planned for Friday but it could easily be delayed yet again * The defence chiefs are deeply unhappy. They are concerned that the money on the table will not be enough to fund key projects. There's a feeling they have largely been kept in the dark * Reeves is deeply frustrated by the process - the fact she is having to effectively reopen the spending review process to find the money. Her intervention at an investor conference yesterday - warning of need for tax rises to fund defence - was particularly significant * Then there's the bigger political picture - what if Burnham wins Makerfield, becomes PM and takes a different view? By that stage you could have a new PM, a new chancellor and a new defence secretary. Worth remembering that there are significant cuts to DfT capital budgets and net zero projects to help fund the DIP * Latest from Makerfield: Burnham allies are increasingly confident he will win the by-election. They think Restore UK is a factor that will divide the vote on the right. Restore is targeting female voters in particular * The big question - if Burnham wins Makerfield when does he make his move? Allies suggesting he is likely to go sooner than later * The prospect of an orderly transition appears unlikely - Starmer said to think Burnham's manoeuvres are 'unforgivable' - there is mutual enmity between the two men which goes back for years * Will Starmer stand and fight? He insists he will. But we have seen this before with Boris Johnson and even Liz Truss insisting they would fight on and then going. But Starmer is a different character * If there is a leadership contest where does that leave Labour? It means we will have weeks of internal arguments and a 'battle of ideas' in the run-up to a hugely challenging cost of living crisis this winter...

This week's episode of our podcast The State of It with the brilliant Lara Spirit * Inside the bitter Cabinet splits over the defence investment plan - why nobody is happy * Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce a £13.5billion increase in defence spending - far less than previously considered * John Healey, the defence secretary, has warned that this will not be enough and that it risks undermining our credibility in Nato. Defence chiefs had originally asked for £28billion * The Treasury is also said to be pushing for a "planning assumption" that Britain will only meet its target of spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence up from current levels of 2.3 per cent in 2034/35. Healey is concerned that this is not soon enough, given the scale of the threat Britain faces, and has so far refused to sign it off * Talks are going down to the wire. The launch of the Defence Investment Plan was planned for Friday but it could easily be delayed yet again * The defence chiefs are deeply unhappy. They are concerned that the money on the table will not be enough to fund key projects. There's a feeling they have largely been kept in the dark * Reeves is deeply frustrated by the process - the fact she is having to effectively reopen the spending review process to find the money. Her intervention at an investor conference yesterday - warning of need for tax rises to fund defence - was particularly significant * Then there's the bigger political picture - what if Burnham wins Makerfield, becomes PM and takes a different view? By that stage you could have a new PM, a new chancellor and a new defence secretary. Worth remembering that there are significant cuts to DfT capital budgets and net zero projects to help fund the DIP * Latest from Makerfield: Burnham allies are increasingly confident he will win the by-election. They think Restore UK is a factor that will divide the vote on the right. Restore is targeting female voters in particular * The big question - if Burnham wins Makerfield when does he make his move? Allies suggesting he is likely to go sooner than later * The prospect of an orderly transition appears unlikely - Starmer said to think Burnham's manoeuvres are 'unforgivable' - there is mutual enmity between the two men which goes back for years * Will Starmer stand and fight? He insists he will. But we have seen this before with Boris Johnson and even Liz Truss insisting they would fight on and then going. But Starmer is a different character * If there is a leadership contest where does that leave Labour? It means we will have weeks of internal arguments and a 'battle of ideas' in the run-up to a hugely challenging cost of living crisis this winter...

Steven Swinford

16,238 views • 1 month ago

Yesterday, the government announced spending cuts to vital public services as part of the Defence Investment Plan. This is costly and wasteful: every extra pound spent on defence is money taken away from schools and hospitals. Let’s invest in people, not more war abroad.

Yesterday, the government announced spending cuts to vital public services as part of the Defence Investment Plan. This is costly and wasteful: every extra pound spent on defence is money taken away from schools and hospitals. Let’s invest in people, not more war abroad.

Andrea Egan UNISON General Secretary

19,117 views • 14 days ago

The Conservatives will increase defence spending. Our allies, and our enemies, are rearming more quickly and more effectively than we are. We cannot afford to be left behind under this Labour Government. We are the only party with a clear plan and a clear path to raising defence spending to 3.0% of GDP. You can be a warfare economy or a welfare economy, but you can’t be both, as Labour are finding out. Restoring the two-child benefit cap would save £3.2 billion, with half being spent on reducing the deficit, and £1.6 billion on increasing the defence budget. Coupled with our policy to repurpose the national wealth fund to bolster defence with £11 billion from net zero energy projects and £6 billion from cutting central research and development grants, we would establish a new national defence and resilience bank. Labour won’t commit to reaching 3.0% this Parliament. By the time the Defence Investment Plan is published it will be getting on for a year late. We’ve not seen the Defence Finance and Investment Strategy that’s due, nor the Defence Industrial Recapitalisation Plan. Kemi Badenoch will deliver on defence. Deterrence is cheaper than war, but weakness is the most expensive policy of all.

The Conservatives will increase defence spending. Our allies, and our enemies, are rearming more quickly and more effectively than we are. We cannot afford to be left behind under this Labour Government. We are the only party with a clear plan and a clear path to raising defence spending to 3.0% of GDP. You can be a warfare economy or a welfare economy, but you can’t be both, as Labour are finding out. Restoring the two-child benefit cap would save £3.2 billion, with half being spent on reducing the deficit, and £1.6 billion on increasing the defence budget. Coupled with our policy to repurpose the national wealth fund to bolster defence with £11 billion from net zero energy projects and £6 billion from cutting central research and development grants, we would establish a new national defence and resilience bank. Labour won’t commit to reaching 3.0% this Parliament. By the time the Defence Investment Plan is published it will be getting on for a year late. We’ve not seen the Defence Finance and Investment Strategy that’s due, nor the Defence Industrial Recapitalisation Plan. Kemi Badenoch will deliver on defence. Deterrence is cheaper than war, but weakness is the most expensive policy of all.

Ben Obese-Jecty MP

28,540 views • 4 months ago

The Government is spending nearly €4 million a day on helping people - and we will do more. There is no truth to opposition claims that the Government is making money from this crisis.

The Government is spending nearly €4 million a day on helping people - and we will do more. There is no truth to opposition claims that the Government is making money from this crisis.

Fine Gael

40,678 views • 3 months ago

We are now spending five times more on welfare than on defence. This must change! The Conservatives will bring back the two-child benefit cap and use the money for defence. The security of the United Kingdom is our priority, and we have a plan for a stronger country.

We are now spending five times more on welfare than on defence. This must change! The Conservatives will bring back the two-child benefit cap and use the money for defence. The security of the United Kingdom is our priority, and we have a plan for a stronger country.

Kemi Badenoch

137,120 views • 3 months ago

A week before the election Anas Sarwar told BBC Scotland that defence spending was the "first priority" of the new Labour Govt and scrapping the two child benefit cap was not possible because the money wasn't there yet. BBC Scotland is now pretending he didn't say this.

A week before the election Anas Sarwar told BBC Scotland that defence spending was the "first priority" of the new Labour Govt and scrapping the two child benefit cap was not possible because the money wasn't there yet. BBC Scotland is now pretending he didn't say this.

MSM Monitor

40,967 views • 2 years ago

The Minister in charge of all the procurement in the Defence Investment Plan didn’t know there was a £4.7bn funding black hole until after it was published on Tuesday. This really is a car crash interview with Luke Pollard which illustrates what a mess the Defence Investment Plan really is. Working through the plan line-by-line it’s clear just how many capability gaps and omissions there really are. Keir Starmer hoped the Defence Investment Plan would be his legacy. It will, just not in the way he hoped.

The Minister in charge of all the procurement in the Defence Investment Plan didn’t know there was a £4.7bn funding black hole until after it was published on Tuesday. This really is a car crash interview with Luke Pollard which illustrates what a mess the Defence Investment Plan really is. Working through the plan line-by-line it’s clear just how many capability gaps and omissions there really are. Keir Starmer hoped the Defence Investment Plan would be his legacy. It will, just not in the way he hoped.

Ben Obese-Jecty MP

22,511 views • 13 days ago

Our first meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the format of a strategic dialogue. Today, we signed the Ukraine-UK Enhanced Security and Defence Industrial Collaboration Declaration. This is an important step to strengthen our defence. I informed the Prime Minister about the situation on the frontline, Russian attacks, and our needs to protect lives. We discussed the development of joint defence production and strengthening Ukraine’s air defence with additional missiles for air defence systems. Of course, we also touched on the situation in the Middle East. I thank the United Kingdom and personally Keir Starmer for the support. We in Ukraine sincerely appreciate it.

Our first meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the format of a strategic dialogue. Today, we signed the Ukraine-UK Enhanced Security and Defence Industrial Collaboration Declaration. This is an important step to strengthen our defence. I informed the Prime Minister about the situation on the frontline, Russian attacks, and our needs to protect lives. We discussed the development of joint defence production and strengthening Ukraine’s air defence with additional missiles for air defence systems. Of course, we also touched on the situation in the Middle East. I thank the United Kingdom and personally Keir Starmer for the support. We in Ukraine sincerely appreciate it.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський

110,841 views • 3 months ago