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James Gray, Member of Parliament for North Wilthsire and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Armed Forces has welcomed today’s announcement from the Prime Minister to bring Defence Spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030 - an increase of £75 billion pounds.
The last few years have seen two unprecedented international events: a global pandemic and a war in Ukraine. The security environment is deteriorating, with threats to the UK and its interests increasing. An axis of authoritarian states with different values to ours like Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China are increasingly assertive, acting together and making common cause in an attempt to reshape the world order. We need to deter threats now, because the cost of inaction would be higher still – both in terms of our security and our prosperity.
Commenting James Gray said:
“The Government’s first duty is to the national security and defence of the UK. I have long called both in Parliament and in meetings with Ministers for defence spending to increase. Most recently I met the Prime Minister last week in Downing Street to reiterate my belief that we needed to spend more to protect us against our adversaries. I am delighted that the Prime Minister and Government have listened and committed to this significant increase”.
Speaking on Defence spending in the House of Commons most recently on 11th March, James said:
“I strongly support my hon. Friend’s powerful commitment to defence in general, but I am rather disappointed by his tepid promise about moving to 2.5% of GDP. I also find myself in the career-wrecking position of strongly agreeing with the shadow Secretary of State for Defence, who put the arguments extremely well. The fact of the matter is that last week’s Budget reduced both kinds of defence expenditure by £2.5 billion, and we are not facing any kind of move towards 3%, which no less a figure than the former Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Wyre and Preston North (Mr Wallace), publicly called for last week. Two serving Ministers have said how disappointed they are by the Budget. By what possible arithmetic does the Minister conclude we are in fact increasing defence spending, when every expert in the world says that we patently are not?”
The Government’s announcement comes on the same day as the announcement of our largest ever aid package to Ukraine.
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