Armed Forces Bill

Debate between Peter Swallow and James Cartlidge

2nd reading
Monday 26th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[James Cartlidge]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend. We must never forget the reason for the deal in the first place.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

Will the shadow Secretary of State give way?

[James Cartlidge]

I will take one more intervention, and then I will make some progress.

[Peter Swallow]

Is the shadow Secretary of State’s defence for the shambles and the shame of military homes that he finally acted as Defence Secretary where his predecessors had sat on their hands? Is that really his defence of the Tory disgrace of our military homes?

[James Cartlidge]

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for promoting me in posterity. All I can say is that when I came to the job, I was not impressed with the state of armed forces accommodation. Let us not pretend that it suddenly took that shape; in the 13 years when Labour was previously in power, it made no attempt to buy back the defence estate. I return to the point that that is why we did the deal in the first place. We all agree that those who serve our country must never be given substandard homes. The Annington deal has enabled the prospect of what could be the most exciting estate regeneration project for generations. This is the chance to deliver homes for heroes.

We had to buy the estate back, and I enabled that. That being said, delivering such an opportunity requires leadership. The reason why my first policy announcement as shadow Defence Secretary in June last year was the creation of an armed forces housing association, which created a body that could do just that—both manage the estate and deliver a comprehensive rebuild, as the best housing associations have been able to do over the years.