Current location:entertainment >>
Labour refuses to commit to matching Rishi Sunak's defence spending pledge of 2.5% of GDP by 2030
entertainment9537People have gathered around
IntroductionLabour came under fire yesterday for refusing to commit to match the Government's plans to spend 2.5 ...
Labour came under fire yesterday for refusing to commit to match the Government's plans to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps questioned why Sir Keir Starmer would not back the plan, revealed by the Prime Minister this week, despite claiming his 'changed' party would 'never shut its eyes to the threats our country faces'.
John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, said he shared the Government's 'ambition' to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent but claimed the timeline set out was not fully funded.
And Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general, said Labour would only raise spending to 2.5 per cent 'when circumstances allow'.
She said: 'You wouldn't expect me to come on and say that we could spend £75 billion by 2030 without having a plan as to where we were going to get the money from.'
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps questioned why Sir Keir Starmer would not back the plan
On Tuesday, Rishi Sunak promised to reach 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030, spending more than £75 billion extra on defence over the next six years compared with current levels
On Tuesday, Rishi Sunak promised to reach 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030, spending more than £75 billion extra on defence over the next six years compared with current levels.
It was a victory for the Mail's Don't Leave Britain Defenceless campaign, launched after there was no new defence cash in last month's Budget. The commitment will be funded by slashing 72,000 civil service jobs — and Mr Shapps said he wanted 'people on the front line, not in the offices'.
Labour has promised to conduct a strategic defence and security review in its first year in office to assess the resources required to meet the threats facing the UK.
In the Commons, Mr Healey accused the Government of producing a 'fake figure' of £75 billion as he questioned how the increase in defence spending will be funded.
'If this 2030 plan had been in a budget, it would have been independently checked, openly costed, and fully funded,' he told MPs. 'So where is the additional money coming from? How much from which other R&D (research and development) budgets? How much from cutting how many civil servants in which departments?'
But Mr Shapps accused the shadow defence secretary of spending 'all his time explaining-or rather, avoiding explaining-why Labour is not backing 2.5 per cent, which has a schedule, a timescale and figures that have been published'.
Labour has promised to conduct a strategic defence and security review in its first year in office to assess the resources required to meet the threats facing the UK
'It is no good for him and the Leader of the Opposition to go up to Barrow and to claim that they are all in favour now of the nuclear defence, because they stood on a platform with a leader who wanted to scrap Trident, pull us out of NATO, and turn the army into a peace corps,' he added.
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer, meanwhile, accused Labour of refusing to back the plan, adding: 'Instead, they want to spend years holding a review as the world gets more dangerous while refusing to act to keep the British people safe.
'This is the same old Labour Party that sent our Armed Forces into battle with appalling equipment. The idea they can be trusted on defence – only a few years after trying to put Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street – is absurd.'
A fortnight ago, Sir Keir – in an article for the Daily Mail – insisted his party is now 'utterly committed to our nation's defences'. He described his commitment to Nato and the UK's nuclear deterrent as 'unshakeable'.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Global Groove news portal”。http://cuba.readlovelybooks.com/html-7f199888.html
Related articles
Tornado causes extensive damage to small Oklahoma town as powerful storms hit central US
entertainmentOKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A tornado destroyed homes and toppled trees and power lines when it roared thro ...
Read moreChina pledges proactive fiscal policy, prudent monetary policy in 2024
entertainment(Xinhua) 09:11, March 05, 2024BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to implement a proact ...
Read moreEnergy storage industry put on fast track in China
entertainment(Xinhua) 09:53, February 16, 2024NANJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- At an energy storage station in easter ...
Read more
Popular articles
- White Sox recall Mike Clevinger from Triple
- Bank of Japan ends negative interest rates in historic policy overhaul
- Energy storage industry put on fast track in China
- China's industrial profits up 10.2 pct in first 2 months
- Aaron Taylor
- China's rural policy bank to increase financial support for rural revitalization
Latest articles
How major US stock indexes fared Monday, 5/6/2024
Black sailor killed at Pearl Harbor FINALLY identified more than eight decades after 19
China's central bank adds liquidity via reverse repos
Nation vows to further expand opening
Anne Hathaway and husband Adam Shulman join Kate Hudson at Derek Blasberg's star
Black sailor killed at Pearl Harbor FINALLY identified more than eight decades after 19
LINKS
- Guest Opinion: People
- Commentary: Washington abusing national security concept leads to insecurity for all
- Meal services for elderly to expand nationwide
- Does the U.S. See Pacific Island Countries As True Partners?
- Girl, five, dies in horror crash with a lorry while riding her bike outside the school gates
- Living in Downing Street was like being a prisoner in a soulless cage
- Cargo ships in Zaozhuang navigated along the Beijing
- President's trip paves way for more outcomes
- President's trip paves way for more outcomes
- GT Voice: US Treasury yield signals economy in ‘vicious cycle’