Andy Burnham has been criticised for appearing on Gogglebox instead of focusing on defence spending, with Ted Jeffery, co-founder of Defence on the Brink, calling for "real leadership" from the prime minister.
Speaking on TalkTV on Friday (23 October), Jeffery said Burnham and his ministers had failed to carve out a clear, definitive path for defence spending.
Call for clear defence spending pathway
"Chancellor John Healey, next week, needs to set out that clear pathway to spending 3% of our GDP on defence by 2030," Jeffery explained. "That needs to be set out next week. Obviously, I'd like to see a lot more being spent because I think there are a lot of tricks that have been played with the percentages of GDP in the budgets, in terms of what actually gets spent on core defence."
He also criticised the launch of the 'Be Ready' campaign, calling it "pathetic" and calling for more public awareness campaigns, information films and a proper statement from the prime minister.
'Enough of this going on Gogglebox'
"Enough of this going on Gogglebox eating pork scratchings with Steve Rotheram; actually what we want to see is real leadership," Jeffery declared. "We can't defend this country with hope in our heart. We need proper air defences, and we need a proper Navy that can patrol our seas."
Kemi Badenoch, Leader of the Opposition, echoed Jeffery's comments, taking issue with Burnham's Gogglebox appearance, which will air on Friday evening as part of the Stand Up to Cancer special.
Badenoch questions Burnham's priorities
Speaking with Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt on Friday's instalment of BBC Breakfast, she said, "What I'm amazed at is that Andy Burnham has got time to go on Gogglebox."
"When you get a new job in politics, it's so difficult. There's so much to do, and it's like drinking from a fire hose. Even as a Junior Minister or Secretary of State, I never had time for Gogglebox. I just don't know how he has the time. There's a budget next week, and he's going on Gogglebox."
"My job is to hold him to account, and I've seen a lot of prime ministers up close, and I've never seen a prime minister have the time for this much Goggleboxing, social media, Lad Bible," she continued. "When you first become prime minister, I can't tell you how difficult it is. There's so much to get up to speed on, especially when you come in mid-term. He seems like a very nice guy, someone you'd want to hang out with in the park, but it doesn't mean he's doing the job as prime minister."
