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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has criticized the prime minister for delaying increases in defence expenditure, describing it as “kicking defence spending into the long grass.” She outlined the Conservative Party’s intention to raise defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030, a commitment valued at approximately £10 billion annually. Badenoch detailed several funding measures the Conservatives would implement to support this increase, including reinstating the two-child benefit cap, reforming housing benefit, and ending VAT exemptions on Motability vehicles.
At a press conference, Badenoch emphasized the urgency of boosting defence amid international threats, citing countries such as Russia and Iran. She stated, “Conflict is coming, we must act now.” In contrast, Andy Burnham’s government has only pledged to present a plan in the spring aimed at meeting the NATO guideline of 3.5% of GDP on defence spending by 2035. Badenoch accused Burnham of postponing action, saying, “Andy Burnham is kicking defence spending into the long grass. Our enemies are not going to sit around and wait for Labour to find the money to fight them.”
Burnham has defended his commitment to defence by pointing to his Chancellor, John Healey, who resigned as defence secretary over the previous government’s reluctance to commit to a 3% spending increase but is now part of the administration. Badenoch questioned this consistency, suggesting that Healey’s position had softened upon becoming Chancellor. She remarked, “He resigned because Britain was not on track to reach 3% by 2030 and I praised him at the time for that decision. Now that he is chancellor he does not seem to believe that any more and I am concerned he has been bought off with a promotion.” Badenoch further proposed that if the prime minister is unwilling to allocate funds now, he should call a general election.
The Conservative leader reiterated plans to achieve the 3% defence spending target through specific policy changes. One major element is reintroducing the two-child benefit cap, which was scrapped by Labour in April. This cap had limited universal credit or tax credits claims to the first two children. Additional savings are planned from reforms to housing benefit, which accounts for around 12% of the government’s welfare expenditure, and from ending VAT exemptions on Motability cars, yielding about £1 billion in savings. Badenoch also mentioned reallocating funds from the British Business Bank and savings linked to the controversial Chagos Islands agreement as part of the strategy. Addressing criticism that reinstating the benefit cap would increase child poverty, she stated, “It is not going to increase child poverty. What increases child poverty is children’s parents not having work or being paid low wages. We want to grow our economy.”
In response, a Labour Party spokesperson dismissed the Conservative proposals as unrealistic, accusing the Tories of having previously weakened the armed forces to their smallest size since the Napoleonic era. The spokesperson emphasized that under Andy Burnham, defence investment will be prioritized, highlighting that Labour had recently secured the largest sustained growth in defence spending since the Cold War, with current funding exceeding any point during the preceding 14 years of Conservative leadership. Badenoch had also challenged Burnham during Prime Minister’s Questions, urging cuts in welfare spending to bolster defence funding. Even within Labour, MP Tan Dhesi pressed the prime minister to urgently commit to a defence spending target of 3% of GDP by 2030, asserting that “vibes alone” would not suffice. Burnham maintained that his government remains dedicated to fully financing defence plans, with a formal pathway toward spending 3.5% of GDP planned for announcement in the spring
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