Labour’s defence delusion: rhetoric without reality
4 min read
How serious is the military threat to the United Kingdom?
I am often asked this question – perhaps not surprisingly, as shadow defence secretary. Of course, nobody can put a precise percentage figure on the probability of Britain being directly involved in conflict in the coming years. But few would deny the global environment feels far more threatening than it has for many years.
The ‘threat’ from Russia is not just about the war in Ukraine. It comes from Vladimir Putin’s tolerance for mass casualties, his willingness to test our resolve with deliberate drone and fighter jet incursions into Nato airspace, and his support from China, Iran and North Korea – who are providing drones, material and even soldiers for the front line. To this we could add the wider instability we are seeing: from conflict in the Middle East to skirmishes on the India-Pakistan border.
This government has put procurement on ice, morale on edge, and left our armed forces in limbo
The most reasoned logic is that to deter war, we have to be prepared for it. No one can predict the future, but we know with absolute certainty that the stronger we are, the less likely our adversaries are to chance their arm. In short, deterrence must be the order of the day: delivered through rapid rearmament, and the restoration of war readiness across our military and industrial base.
But delivering such a disposition to defence requires grip and focused leadership – above all, a recognition in Whitehall that the threat is real. Which is why the gulf between Labour’s rhetoric and reality on defence is so alarming.
The recent revelation that the Ministry of Defence faces a £2.6bn budget black hole exposes, in stark terms, the failure of this government to grasp the scale of funding needed to restore war readiness. For all their tough talk on defence, this government has put procurement on ice, morale on edge, and left our armed forces in limbo.
Yes, defence spending will rise to 2.5 per cent in 2027 – but the lack of serious funding before then is taking its toll now, with procurement effectively on hold. At the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) show in September – the country’s main defence fair – company after company I spoke to was desperately waiting for orders to come through. Part of the problem, as I was always clear when I became shadow defence secretary, is that 2.5 per cent is only enough to stabilise current programmes – at best – following the inevitable inflationary impact of the war in Ukraine.
It’s the pledges to get to three per cent, 3.5 per cent, and five per cent that really offer the prospect of transformation for our forces. Unfortunately, they represent a hollow prospect: these promises are unfunded and rely in large part on relabelling non-defence spending as military in purpose.
It shows that a government with such a large majority, which cannot make even modest cuts to welfare, is going to struggle to make the difficult decisions necessary to properly boost defence spending.
And yet, there is one extraordinary exception to Labour’s penny-pinching: the estimated £35bn they are prepared to spend surrendering British sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.
In my view, spending such a vast sum to lease back land we own freehold is madness – we should scrap the deal and spend every penny on our own armed forces.
This folly comes alongside another betrayal – Labour’s decision to repeal the Northern Ireland Legacy Act and put the army back in the dock, for defending us from terrorism decades ago.
Betraying veterans, surrendering Diego Garcia, starving the front line of cash. These are not the actions of a government serious about the threat we face – Labour needs to think again, and properly back our armed forces.
James Cartlidge is Conservative MP for South Suffolk and shadow defence secretary
