STORY
Andy Burnham is under pressure from Labour MPs to rule out welfare cuts as a way of filling the reported £4.7 billion defence funding shortfall. The issue has emerged before he has formally taken office, but it is already shaping debate about the fiscal choices likely to face his first Budget.
The defence plan includes a significant increase in spending, but questions remain about how part of the package will be funded. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that meeting longer-term NATO spending expectations would require much larger sums, raising the prospect of difficult trade-offs across Whitehall.
Labour MPs on the party’s left have warned against using welfare savings to fund defence commitments. The row highlights the challenge Burnham would face in balancing Labour’s social policy priorities with pressure from allies, military leaders and NATO partners for higher defence spending.