Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

The House will be aware that we spend £333 billion a year on the Department for Work and Pensions. We spend less than a fifth of that on defence, at £62 billion. In his speech this morning, the Prime

The Minister will be aware that on Sunday we published a report—I have it here—that is highly critical of the delay in the defence investment plan. The most important duty of a Government is to defend

It may be pretty obvious to some, but it is not so obvious to others. To govern is to make difficult choices. In short, the Government are spending more than the country can afford, funded by ever-inc

I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s intervention. As someone who worked under my right hon. Friend for Sutton Coldfield (Sir Andrew Mitchell) as a junior Opposition defence spokesman, I understand the valu

If the hon. Gentleman is just a little patient, he will find that, two or three paragraphs down, I will address precisely that point. Currently, the defence budget for 2025-26 is £62.2 billion, which

I do not think I could design a tax increase that was a bigger tax on jobs than the hike in national insurance. I totally agree with the hon. Lady, and I think it is tragic in particular for our young