Earlier, Darren Jones, the principal secretary at the Treasury, suggested there must be a ‘trade-off’ between economic growth and the amount Britain can spend on national security (see 8.43 post).
Is it true that you sometimes have to wait before building up military capabilities?
Dame Priti Patel says: “Absolutely not.
“These are political choices that this government has made.”
She adds that “the reality is that my ruling party, even when it comes to defense spending, has a clear path to securing that 2.5% of GDP by 2030.”
“Today we are reading possible reports that this government … may not even try to reach that level before 2034.
“The world is in an unstable place. The landscape is changing dramatically now.”
She warns: ‘I think we need a stronger West now, and it is imperative that the West in particular unite around defense spending.
“How we work together in NATO, the amount of resources we put into it.”
Dame Priti suggests that support for Ukraine has an impact on our own military spending.
“I will encourage this administration to have a constructive dialogue with our American counterparts on this matter,” she said.
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