John Healey responds to the Prime Minister’s announcement on defence spending

John Healey MP, Labour's Shadow Defence Secretary, responding to the Prime Minister's announcement on defence spending, said:

“As Keir Starmer recently set out, Labour wants to see a fully funded plan to reach 2.5 per cent, but the Tories have shown time and time again that they cannot be trusted on defence and we will examine the detail of their announcement closely.

“The British public will judge ministers by what they do not what they say. Since 2010, the Conservatives have wasted more than £15 billion mismanaging defence procurement, shrunk the Army to its smallest size since Napoleon, missed their recruitment targets every year, and allowed morale to fall to record lows.

“Labour will conduct a strategic defence and security review in the first year in government to get to grips with the threats we face, the state of our Armed Forces, and the resources required.”

Ends

Notes:

In 2022, Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent by 2030:https://x.com/glabsandra/status/1782774472543441359

The Treasury Red Book confirms a £2.5 billon cut to defence

RDEL

CDEL

TOTAL CUT TO DEFENCE = £2.5 BILLION