I had the privilege to meet serving members of one of our most prestigious British Army regiments and chat to them about their service, from housing to operations, on the terrace of the House of Commons.
The first business of the week was defence oral questions at 2.30pm, with yours truly on point as the Shadow Defence Secretary. The soldiers in question had been seated in the gallery to watch the ensuing verbal jousting between Government and opposition, prior to adjourning to the terrace. Following defence orals, the Government made a statement to parliament on its plans to completely U-turn in regard to welfare reform. One of the troops had a question for me. In essence, why was the chamber relatively empty for defence questions on the Labour side, but packed to the gunnels for the welfare statement? That, in a nutshell, is the question of the day – if not our time.
What do we really prioritise as a country? Is it the ability to defend ourselves as a nation, or our welfare system? In my view, Labour’s U-turn on its plan for modest welfare savings is a complete failure of leadership from the Prime Minister. Everyone knows we have to reduce welfare spending. We cannot keep turning the tax tap on to fund the Government’s ballooning borrowing bill. More taxes will hit our productive economy even more, and our farmers and small businesses are hurting enough. In this context, the only way ahead is to recognise the need to get a grip on welfare spending, and then use those savings in part to fund our defence budget.
I don’t say that simply because I’m Shadow Defence Secretary. NATO has just agreed a new defence spending target of 5 per cent of GDP, more than double where we are now, and the current 2.3 per cent follows a significant increase from when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister, and Rishi Sunak was his Chancellor, back in 2019. The point is, NATO is announcing a higher target for good reason – the most serious one of all, and that’s the growing threats we face. Once again, with the bombing of Iran and continued Russian attacks on Ukraine, we are seeing war on more than one front. The risk of a more serious threat manifesting directly affecting the United Kingdom must be self-evident. At the same time, President Trump has a point in saying other NATO states need to do ‘more of the heavy lifting’. We cannot just keep relying on the US to keep us safe, when Washington is inevitably increasingly focused on China. We have to do our bit, and it is going to cost more. But how to pay for it?
By the time you will be reading this, the result of the vote on the Government’s proposed welfare reforms will be known, but as I write, we await the final changes to their Bill, following their chaotic U-turn last week forced by rebel Labour MPs. The original Bill restricted eligibility for the personal independence payment (PIP) and cut the health-related element of universal credit (UC). In an effort to avoid a defeat in the Commons by their own MPs, the new Bill will ensure that current PIP claimants will keep their benefits, and stricter eligibility requirements will only apply to new claims from November 2026. I firmly believe that the best way in which we can become a more prosperous society, and in turn reduce the welfare bill, is to support those who are able to work, off benefits and into paid employment. Of course, people who are unable to work due to disability or serious ill health should be supported by the State, but we also require policies which incentivise work. This is exactly why I hold an annual jobs fair, to highlight the huge range of opportunities on offer locally, with the most recent fair taking place in April at Sudbury Arts Centre, attended by hundreds of people from around the area looking for a new job or opportunity. I strongly believe that there is something for everyone, and giving people a purpose through employment or volunteering can greatly improve their mental and physical health.
It's a stark choice but these are challenging times – unless we back a productive, more resilient and self-reliant economy over an ever-expanding welfare state, we will not just suffer economically – with higher taxes an inevitability – we will be less secure, as we will not be able to afford the armed forces we need.
Published in the East Anglian Daily Times.
