James Cartlidge

James Cartlidge

Conservative — South Suffolk

Speaking in the House of Commons on 1 June 2026

Debate

Topical Questions

Contribution

No wonder the defence investment plan is so late: the Labour Government still have not worked out how to pay for it. The good news is that others have. Lord Robertson, a former Labour Defence Secretary, has said: “We cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget”, and Tony Blair himself warned last week: “By the end of this decade, we could be spending more on incapacity and disability benefits than on defence. No serious country can do that.” Is not the truth that whoever becomes the next Labour Prime Minister must do one thing above all else to boost defence, and that is to cut welfare and spend the savings on the British armed forces?

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