“I’m going to have to let the leader of the opposition down gently. She didn’t feature in my thinking at all. I was so busy over the weekend I didn’t even see her proposal.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer took apart Kemi Badenoch during PMQs, where he slammed the Tory party leader for her ‘desperate search for relevance’, during yet another bruising appearance it the Commons for the opposition leader.
Badenoch had tried to attack the Labour government over the recent announcement by Starmer that defence spending is set to increase to 2.5% of national income by 2027, which would amount to the biggest hike in defence spending since the Cold War.
The Prime Minister has said that the defence budget will go up by “£13.4 billion year-on-year” from 2027. Badenoch tried to claim that there were discrepancies between Starmer and Defence Secretary John Healey over the amount.
At PMQs, Badenoch asked Starmer: “Over the weekend I suggested to the prime minister that he cut the aid budget and I am pleased that he accepted my advice. It’s the fastest response I’ve ever had from the prime minister.
“However, he announced £13.4 billion of additional defence spending yesterday. This morning, his defence secretary said the uplift is only £6bn. Which is the correct figure?”
Starmer replied: “I’m going to have to let the leader of the opposition down gently. She didn’t feature in my thinking at all. I was so busy over the weekend I didn’t even see her proposal.
“She’s appointed herself, I think, the saviour of western civilisation. It’s a desperate search for relevance.
“If you take the numbers for this financial year, and then the numbers for financial year 27/28, that’s a £13.4bn increase – the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
