Few will argue with PM’s case for the defence – making the sums add up is another matter
Labour MPs turning up to the narrow committee corridor in the Palace of Westminster to hear from the defence secretary were left disappointed after his Monday night outing with party colleagues was postponed because of a late-running statement in the Commons chamber.
My sense is few would outwardly disagree or criticise with today’s pronouncements on the changing security landscape and increasing need to spend more on the military.
‘Age of insecurity’
For sure, it’ll do few favours to MPs being threatened on their left by the Green Party or local independents. But conversely, it should go down better where Reform is in pursuit from the right.
That said, I don’t think anyone will see this as the electoral elixir to turn round the party’s waning political fortunes.
“The conversations I tend to have… are about cost of living, the state of the NHS, Gaza and the general deterioration of public services and their living standards,” said one MP – questioning whether any of the big bold statements aired today will have too much cut through on the doorstep.
Another party campaigner said the government had been working hard to tell a “national story” about the “age of insecurity”, but added that’s a political message which is easier to land when the stated threats feel more immediate and closer to home.
Watch: What’s in the Strategic Defence Review?
The politics gets really difficult when you look at the money.
From defence spending through to the winter fuel allowance and likely scrapping of the two child cap, there’s no shortage of policy expenditure chasing every pound of public cash.
The problem is there aren’t too many of those pounds sloshing around in Whitehall nowadays.
Economists have warned Sir Keir Starmer will need to put up taxes to square the circle.
The political justification for now is that the billions going into the military will create a “defence dividend” that will create jobs and spur economic growth.
It’s hard to see how that makes all the sums add up in the short term, though.
