Speaking as Shadow Treasury Minister during Treasury questions, James Wild MP challenged the Chancellor over her failure to properly fund defence as the government prepares to publish its Defence Investment Plan.
James raised concerns that the Treasury is not allocating sufficient resources to meet growing global threats, while continuing to prioritise rising welfare spending. He pressed the Chancellor to explain why defence is not being treated as the urgent priority national security demands.
The Defence Investment Plan is expected to set out how the government intends to deliver the capabilities required to strengthen the UK’s defence and national security.
Speaking in the House of Commons, James Wild MP said:
“It is good that the Chancellor has had those meetings, but perhaps they have come too late, because when the former Defence Secretary resigned, he said that the Treasury was ‘unwilling’ to provide the resources needed to defend the country against rising threats.
“The Chancellor has said that national security always comes first, so why this dereliction of duty? Why is she failing to tackle the ever-expanding welfare budget and blocking the defence investment plan from getting the funding needed to meet the threats that we face?”
