James Cartlidge
Main Page: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)Department Debates - View all James Cartlidge's debates with the Ministry of Defence
(2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)
As it is the first time we have debated, may I begin by welcoming the new Secretary of State to his position? On 26 July, he appeared on the Camilla Tominey show on GB News and was asked, “If the Chancellor of the Exchequer does not stump up enough defence spending, will he resign?” The Secretary of State replied, “Absolutely.” Is that still the case?
Wes Streeting
Absolutely. My answer is the same as it was before, and the reason I could give that answer so confidently in my first week in office was because this Government are already delivering the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the cold war. The Chancellor resigned from the previous Government on a matter of principle. He is committed to invest more at the Budget, and he will set out the path to 3% and 3.5% at next year’s spending review. I trust the Chancellor a hell of a lot more than I trust the record of the previous Government, who under-invested in defence for more than a decade.
James Cartlidge
The Chancellor resigned then to go to 3% on defence. Bearing that in mind, on the same day, the Secretary of State also appeared on Times Radio and was asked by Adam Boulton if a failure to deliver on defence spending would be a resignation issue for him, as it had been for the now Chancellor. The Secretary of State replied:
“It is. It is absolutely, for me, a matter of principle.”
It begs a simple question. If the Budget does not deliver 3% for defence by 2030, will he resign?