Badenoch: Cut benefits to fund £10bn defence spending package
Kemi Badenoch has urged the government to cut housing benefits, child benefits and re-route public investment in order to fund a £10bn boost on defence spending every year.
She referred to Healey’s decision to resign from Sir Keir Starmer’s government as defence secretary over a failure to commit to raise defence spending to three per cent of GDP by 2030.
Healey is facing calls from influential Labour backbenchers, including defence committee chair Tan Dhesi, to follow through on his own calls now he is the Chancellor.
“’Defence is definitely one area where vibes alone just isn’t going to be enough,” Dhesi said during Prime Minister’s Questions.
“Rather than kick the can down the road, will the PM urgently commit to a pathway to reaching three per cent of GDP on defence by 2030 which as his Chancellor rightly noted is critical to keep our country safe?”
Andy Burnham responded to say he had “made that commitment”. The government has said it will set out a plan to raise defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP in next year’s Spending Review.
Badenoch said the Conservatives “will always put our defence first”, particularly given worries over threats from Russia, China, Iran and Argentina in the Falklands.
Defence spending funded by cuts to wealth fund
The Tory plan to increase defence expenditure involves previous commitments to undo two-child benefit cap spending, which costs about £3bn a year, and scrapping the Chagos Islands handover, raising about £200m a year.
Badenoch has said she would also pull back funding for the British Business Bank, the National Wealth Fund and a research and development fund in order to boost the armed forces, adding nearly £8bn to the budget altogether.
Another £4bn could be saved from reforms to housing benefits, according to Tory officials.
The plan would both increase the defence budget and reduce the deficit. Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said further delays in funding would post a “greater” risk to national security.
“The Conservatives are clear: we must cut the welfare bill, reprioritise funding from other areas and invest an extra £10bn a year in our armed forces so we can meet our 3 per cent target, honouring our NATO commitments and keeping Britain safe,” he said.