Attending the Hadleigh Show on 17th May.
It’s been an incredibly busy time in my shadow defence role these past few weeks, coming to a head with the publication of the Government’s long-awaited strategic defence review (SDR) on Monday.
As I write this column, it’s been less than 24 hours since the review was published, but it’s already completely unravelling, because quite simply, the Government haven’t got a plan to fund it.
An SDR without the funding is an empty wish list; the ships and submarines it talks of are a fantasy fleet.
There’s been lots of talk from the Government of raising defence funding to 2.5% of GDP this Parliament and then 3% in the next, a commitment that cannot be guaranteed ahead of the next general election, but also a spending commitment that has been downgraded over the weekend from a ‘certainty’ to a mere ‘ambition’.
The authors of the strategic defence review were clear that 3% of GDP ‘established the affordability’ of the plan.
Without this funding, none of the recommendations can be accepted ‘in full’, and crucially, it doesn’t give the Ministry of Defence the certainty they need to plan for the future, to equip our armed forces with the capabilities they need.
If the Government are looking for ways to fund their plans, I’d suggest they get a grip on our welfare budget rather than competing with Reform to expand it, through scrapping measures such as the two-child benefit cap.
They could also save billions by scrapping their crazy Chagos treaty, which includes the UK transferring sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and spending £101 million a year, for 99 years, to lease back our joint military base on Diego Garcia – that’s ten billion pounds – to lease back territory that we already own freehold.
The terrible shame of this SDR unravelling is that this was an extraordinary opportunity to overhaul our armed forces, in a world of growing threats.
It’s not just national security that needs to be at the forefront of our minds, but also our food security, particularly with further speculation about additional cuts to support for farmers.
As I’ve written before, I’ve been particularly concerned about the detrimental impact of the Government’s family farm tax on our farmers' mental health.
Having recently met with Suffolk’s agricultural chaplain, Graham Miles, I was deeply concerned to hear that some local farmers have been approaching him with suicidal thoughts.
This is heartbreaking – and a stark reminder of the immense pressure so many of our farmers are under, particularly with the additional stress caused by the Government’s family farm tax.
This show season, it’s been a pleasure to attend both the Hadleigh and Suffolk shows, meeting with farmers and growers from across South Suffolk.
At both shows, we were blessed with beautiful weather and an extraordinary array of events.
At Hadleigh in particular, there really is something for everyone – with farming fun, livestock displays, stuntmen shows, vintage tractors, art and crafts, family activities, and so much more.
A true celebration of the countryside – it’s more than just a show – it’s a South Suffolk tradition.
At the Suffolk show, it was good to join roundtables with the NFU and the CLA to discuss support for farmers, environmental schemes, our rural economy, and the opportunity for landowners to help deliver small-scale and affordable developments in communities.
There are so many challenges facing our farmers and rural communities, especially with reports that funding for farmers could be cut even further.
First and foremost, I’ll be doing all I can to champion our local farmers to give them the support that they deserve.
Published by the East Anglian Daily Times.
