A Treasury minister has insisted that balancing welfare and defence spending “is not a zero-sum game”, amid warnings the UK must increase its military budget to ensure national security during global volatility. James Murray, the chief secretary to the Treasury, pushed back against criticism from former Nato secretary general Lord Robertson, who accused the Treasury of “vandalism” for not boosting defence sufficiently.
Speaking to Times Radio, Murray said the government was delivering the biggest sustained rise in defence investment since the Cold War, while also reforming welfare. “It’s not a zero-sum game because we are increasing the investment in defence as a result of our decisions to record levels,” he said. He pointed to steps such as removing the two-child benefit cap, which he said helps lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty.
Lord Robertson had warned in a speech that “we cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget”, and called for prioritising defence. The government has committed to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence from April next year, rising to 3% in the next parliament, but military chiefs claim there is still a £28bn shortfall. Military leaders have reportedly been asked to find £3.5bn in savings this year, even as the armed forces prepare for potential conflict.
The suggestion of cuts to public spending to fund defence has sparked anger on the left. Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott accused Lord Robertson of putting “guns before butter”, arguing that cutting welfare for armaments would cost Labour votes. “People are going to start to wonder why they are voting Labour in the first place,” she said.
Defence Secretary John Healey is understood to be pushing the Treasury for more money and was in Germany co-chairing a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, seeking to maintain international focus on the conflict amid the Middle East crisis.
