The Conservative Party has pledged a £10 billion 'iron dome' defence system to protect the UK and its sovereign territories in the face of what they have called 'science fiction'-style threats to Britain's safety.
The 'Britannia Shield' would be able to detect incoming strikes via a network of radar, command and control systems - and would be funded by reinstating the two-child benefit cap and reforming housing benefit, the Conservatives said.
Badenoch to address conference
"The world will not wait for Britain to get ready," leader Kemi Badenoch is to tell the party conference in Birmingham tomorrow (October 6). "War has returned to Europe. Missiles and drones are transforming warfare in the Middle East.
"Cheap weapons can now threaten cities, military bases and critical infrastructure in ways that would have sounded like science fiction a generation ago. The threat is here. Britain must be ready. And Britannia Shield will help make sure we are."
Announcing the pledge on the third day of the party’s annual conference in Birmingham, Kemi Badenoch accused Labour of failing to keep the country safe and said the system would protect both the whole of the UK, its sovereign territories and British bases overseas, reports the Press Association.
Defence spending pledge
The party have sought to sharpen political battle lines with the Labour Government over its defence policy after Prime Minister Andy Burnham said national security could not come "at the expense of social security".
Mrs Badenoch has pledged to spend 3% of gross domestic product on defence by 2030 – a target for which Mr Burnham is yet to set out his own deadline – which the Tories say would provide an additional £10 billion a year.
The Conservatives say measures such as reinstating the two-child benefit cap and reforming housing benefit would help fund the plans.
Party officials said the air defence system announced on Tuesday and described as "in essence, a British iron dome" would account for around £1 billion annually over 10 years as part of this pre-existing funding pledge.
Labour response
In response, Labour pointed to the Conservatives’ record in office and said they should "never be given responsibility" for national security again.
Real-terms defence spending fluctuated under successive Conservative governments between 2010 and 2024, falling by around 22% by 2016/17, after which it steadily rose and recently returned to 2010 levels.
Mrs Badenoch said: "Families can make their own choices. Businesses can build and innovate. But only government can defend the country.
"Yet Labour still will not commit the money Britain needs for defence. They keep pouring billions into a broken welfare system while leaving our security underfunded. When forced to choose, they pick social security over national security.
"Conservatives choose differently. We have fully funded defence spending at 3% of GDP by 2030, because keeping Britain safe cannot be another promise for some distant point in the future."
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge, who will deliver a speech to the Tory conference on Tuesday, said the system would deliver "the most significant upgrade to UK air defence for generations".
He said the investment was "totally necessary because of the threats we face" and "only possible because of our willingness to take the tough decisions to fund defence."
The Labour Government has pledged to reach defence spending of 3.5% GDP by 2035, with a target for 3% funding to be set out in the spending review.
Plans set out in the defence investment plan (Dip) will see spending rise to 2.7% of GDP by 2027/28, but there are no firm details on how further increases will be achieved beyond that date.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: "Trusting the Tories to invest in Britain’s defences would wave a huge white flag to our enemies.
"Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives hollowed out our armed forces, leaving our army at the smallest size since the Napoleonic era. Their dismal record in government speaks for itself and they should never be given responsibility for keeping our country safe again.
"Andy Burnham’s Labour Government is delivering the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, including £1 billion investment in air defences.
"Keeping Britain safe is the first priority of this government, and through our strategic investment in our defence industries and our unshakeable commitment to Nato and our allies, we are delivering on that promise.
"The Government is firmly committed to investing 3.5% of our GDP on defence by 2035 – investment that will keep our country safe and help to deliver a new era of industrialisation, backing British by buying British wherever our industry can deliver."
