Kemi Badenoch has accused Sir Keir Starmer of leaving a £5bn hole in the UK’s defence investment plan, telling the outgoing prime minister he was handing a “mess” to his successor. At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, the Conservative leader pressed Starmer on whether Andy Burnham – widely expected to take over as PM on 20 July – had agreed to fund the shortfall.
The long-awaited defence plan, unveiled on Tuesday ahead of next week’s Nato summit, promises £15bn in extra spending by 2030. But Defence Minister Luke Pollard admitted to the BBC that the next chancellor will need to find an additional £4.7bn in this autumn’s Budget. The Treasury has so far identified only £10.3bn in savings, leaving the rest unaccounted for. The overall package still falls short of the £28bn reportedly demanded by defence chiefs, and former defence ministers John Healey and Al Carns resigned in protest over the plan.
“Badenoch claims Starmer left a £5bn shortfall in defence plan for successor Burnham.”
Badenoch accused the government of “spending it all on welfare” and claimed the UK had increased spending by just 0.01% compared to its allies over the past two years. “Even the limited plan he announced has completely unravelled because he hasn’t found the money to pay for it: it’s £5bn short,” she said. “We all know he is leaving this mess to his successor, so can he confirm that the MP for Makerfield has agreed to fund the shortfall?”
Starmer dismissed the attack as “faux outrage” and turned on the Conservatives for cutting defence spending while in power. “I’m proud of this Labour government and any Labour prime minister would stand beside this plan,” he said. He pointed to the “headroom” built into the Budget last November by Chancellor Rachel Reeves – spare cash that allowed the government to commit to the increase. But that headroom may be short-lived: Burnham is widely expected to replace Reeves as chancellor if he becomes PM, with Ed Miliband seen as the front-runner to step into the crucial role.
The defence plan is one of Starmer’s final duties as prime minister. Whether Burnham will inherit a funded strategy – or another black hole – remains unanswered.