Labour is failing on defence and prioritising welfare over our nation’s security say Southport Conservatives.
The recently published Defence Investment Plan was supposed to set out the increases in funding needed to get the UK’s defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 and 3.5% by 2035.
After months of dither and delay over its publication, the Defence Secretary resigning, a Defence Minister resigning and now a Prime Minister on his way out, the plan put forward is woefully short of what’s needed, with a a near £5 billion black hole and no plan on how to fill it.
Southport Conservative’s Mike Prendergast said, “The Defence Investment Plan isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. It’s been announced with much fanfare by a PM who’ll be gone in a few weeks, a PM who Southport’s own MP no longer has faith in.”
“If Labour’s own MP’s aren’t backing Starmer and his plans then why should the rest of the country be expected to do differently?”
“The plan does not deliver what is needed. In order to meet our NATO commitments and ensure we are properly defended in a dangerous world, defence spending needs to be at 3% of GDP by 2030 and 3.5% by 2035. The plan delivers neither of these.”
“Our defence is key to our future prosperity and Labour just aren’t delivering.”
“What we need to see is cuts to the welfare budget to get defence spending where it needs to be. Instead Labour are cancelling road projects and cutting funding elsewhere, welfare spending is due to get to over £400 billion by the end of this Parliament, with more and more people claiming it.”
“Labour’s backbench MP’s simply refuse to tackle this failing to do so has consequences, with inadequate defence budgets being one of them.”
