Wes Streeting's grace period as Defence Secretary is running out. The former Health Secretary has yet to commit to a date for increasing defence spending, and the longer he remains silent, the harder it becomes to take his earlier support for higher defence budgets at face value.
A question of credibility
Those willing to give Streeting the benefit of the doubt say he is still getting to grips with his new role. Others argue he is being evasive, setting the conditions to row back on support he gave to the idea that Britain needs to spend more before he became Defence Secretary.
Streeting endorsed the resignation letter of Chancellor John Healey when Healey stepped down as Defence Secretary. He has also insisted he would quit his role if a £4.7 billion black hole left by Sir Keir Starmer was not filled in the Budget later this year.
The 3% target by 2030
On this week's media round, Streeting refused to commit to increasing defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 - a date NATO allies believe Vladimir Putin could be in a position to attack a member of the alliance. The country, by good fortune, has a Chancellor who resigned just weeks ago on that very matter of principle.
Many will worry that Streeting's refusal to commit to a date comes in the same week the Prime Minister promised to stake his premiership on reforming social care, an endeavour that will cost a significant amount of money. The glass half empty among us will speculate that defence could be at best second in line behind Andy Burnham's social care agenda.
Weighing priorities
Conor Wilson, writing for this publication, says it is not for him to say which issue is more important. While a strong advocate for increased defence spending, he would not dream of telling somebody selling their house to fund dementia care that reforms were not of paramount importance.
Many will say that the amount a country spends is only one part of equipping a military, and they would be right. Ensuring value for every pound spent and ending a culture of waste is every bit as important. But both must happen: spending must increase, and value must be better found.
No more dodging
Streeting, Burnham and the government at large are finding that small gestures like bus fares might be simple to implement, but large-scale reform or significant increases in spending, which inevitably lead to spending cuts elsewhere or tax rises, are more difficult to deliver without a manifesto and mandate.
Streeting must therefore be honest. Either spending will increase and a target date will be set, or he should come clean and admit he does not honestly believe he will be able to do so.
