STORY
The Conservative Party has proposed increasing annual defence expenditure by £10 billion as part of a plan to spend 3% of gross domestic product on defence by the end of the decade. Kemi Badenoch said the additional resources were needed in response to a growing threat from Russia and wider international instability.
The Conservatives said the increase would be financed principally through reductions in welfare spending. Badenoch argued that defence had to take priority in a more dangerous international environment and said the Armed Forces required firm financial commitments rather than expressions of support.
Labour disputed the Conservatives’ costings and accused the party of relying on savings which could not be delivered as claimed. The dispute leaves defence and welfare spending at the centre of a broader argument about the choices facing the Government as it prepares its future fiscal plans.