Sir Keir Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer

Labour — Holborn and St Pancras

Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 January 2026

Debate

Engagements

Contribution

I am proud that we are spending more on defence than at any time since the last Labour Government. [Interruption.] The strategic defence review has backed the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the cold war. That is £270 billion this Parliament, making defence an engine of growth. That is a stark contrast. Ben Wallace, the longest-serving Conservative Defence Secretary, openly admitted that under the Conservatives’ watch our armed forces were “hollowed out”. [Interruption.]

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