Tories accuse Starmer of being ‘all mouth no trousers’ on defence spending
The government is facing growing calls to unveil its long-delayed defense investment plan amid rising global tensions following the US-Iran ceasefire.
Kemi Badenoch called for the spending document to be released next week, while Labor MP Tan Dhesi, who chairs the House of Commons Defense Committee, warned that its discontinuation risked weakening Britain’s position within NATO.
Ministers had initially promised to complete the plan last year.
But they have since refrained from giving a release date due to reports indicating an ongoing dispute between the Ministry of Defense and the Treasury.
The Conservative Party leader criticized Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, saying he is “mouthy and pantsless when it comes to defence” and repeated his demand that the plan be published when Parliament reconvenes after recess next week.
“Keir Starmer talks about wanting to spend 3% of GDP on defence. Last year his government published a Strategic Defense Review explaining why we need this,” he said.
“But here we are nine months later and we still haven’t seen the attached defense investment plan. It was promised last fall, now it’s April. This is a national scandal.”
Defense Secretary John Healey last month rejected claims that the Treasury was delaying the publication of the plan and rejected suggestions that there were requests for it to be scaled back.
But Ms Badenoch, who will be speaking at the London Defense Conference on Saturday, said the plan could not be implemented because the government “had no idea how to pay for it”.
Meanwhile, Mr Dhesi said Britain’s “failure to quickly deploy a single ship” following the outbreak of war in the Middle East had left many “embarrassed”.
“The Defense Committee has repeatedly expressed concern about the UK’s lack of mass and capability and the urgent need for investment in UK defence,” he said.
“While the strategic defense review set out our military’s long-term strategic vision, the defense investment plan was intended to provide details and its publication was delayed by several months.
“The lack of a public plan now risks undermining the UK’s ability to play a full and leading role in NATO.”
The Conservative Party said they would reintroduce the two-child benefit limit to better fund defence.
Real-term defense spending has fluctuated under successive Conservative governments between 2010 and 2024, falling by 22% in 2016/17, then rising steadily and recently returning to 2010 levels.
Sir Keir’s Labor government has pledged to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on basic defense by 2027, and this will rise to 3% in the next parliament.
Defense minister Luke Pollard accused the Conservatives of “draining” the armed forces and “exposing our brave servicemen and women”.
“If Badenoch was prime minister, Britain would be at war in Iran without a plan; he is completely out of line,” he said.
“Instead of taking potshots, Badenoch should start by apologizing for the mess they left behind.
“Pushing children into poverty is not the way to strengthen our defenses.
“Prime Minister Keir Starmer is delivering the biggest sustained increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War, with every pound of our increase in defense spending serving British workers, British businesses and Britain’s national security.”
Meanwhile, Sir Keir arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday on a visit to the Gulf to press for a long-term solution to the Middle East war.
This comes after Iran and the United States agreed to a two-week ceasefire on the condition that Tehran reopens the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route blocked during the conflict.
