The UK Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer, and his cabinet plus his backbenchers are prioritising welfare in the UK over the defence of the nation. This at a time when the UK is under direct threat from Russia in terms of a hybrid war and in terms of outrageous declarations by Putin’s inner circle of their wishes to nuke the UK. A lot of senior defence experts both inside and outside the MoD genuinely see a threat from Russia and the urgent need to defend the nation.
In addition, Starmer, in a lot of distracting posturing, has recently attended a meeting in Europe where 30 leaders came to the conclusion that both France and Britain should provide a peacekeeping force after successful peace negotiations in Ukraine (which is highly unlikely to happen).
But also as it happens I’m told by The Times newspaper that the British Army can only muster a maximum of about 7,500 soldiers on the ground at this time. And there’s also broken military hardware and the truth is the British military simply don’t have the manpower or the equipment to provide a successful peacekeeping force bearing in mind the long border between the East of Ukraine occupied by Russia currently and the remainder.
Of course they will be accompanied by French soldiers but the combined effect will not be enough to generally create a peacekeeping force which will be under fire according to Putin. As I said, Starmer is simply posing and making big promises which are hollow. And it took a meeting of several days by 30 leaders to come to that conclusion. Frankly it is pathetic.
And as I mentioned in the title, Starmer is prioritising the welfare of British citizens over defence when the priority at this fragile time must be defence because the first responsibility of a government is the protection and safety of its citizens. And the welfare bill is far too generous bearing in mind the dire state of the nation’s finances and the reported extensive ‘gaming’ of the welfare system. In contrast the MOD has been short-changed.
The welfare bill in the UK is projected to reach about £348 billion for 2027-28. It’s currently at about £329 billion. In stark contrast the defence bill for the year 2027-28 will be about £75 billion-£80 billion.
It is politically impossible for this government to reduce the welfare bill because the backbenchers won’t allow it because they want to act like Labour members of Parliament. But this country cannot afford this enormous welfare. However, it must afford a dramatically increased defence bill in the context of a fragile world order both thanks to Putin and now President Trump who demanded a massive uplift to European defence spending.
It seems that this government cannot get their minds around the genuine need to increased defence spending. A top defence chief warns of a need for an extra £28 billion. He is Britain’s most senior military chief who has warned Kier Starmer that the Ministry of Defence is short of £28 billion over the next four years despite plans to boost spending.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, chief of the defence staff, delivered this message to the Prime Minister at a meeting in Downing Street before Christmas. Both Healey and Rachel Reeves were present. It is said that Starmer was “deeply unhappy because he believed the strategic defence review had been fully costed” (The Times).
I would suggest that even with that extra £28 billion this is far short of what is required to bring together a genuine military force to protect both the nation and to provide a peacekeeping force in Ukraine should that be a realistic possibility after a peace agreement.
The problem is this: this Labour government and particularly the Prime Minister are very good at talking but very bad at taking prompt action or action at all. In short of executing their promises and decisions which are often poor. There is a dire need to take prompt and decisive action and this is what Donald Trump is known for. He is the direct opposite to Kier Starmer in terms of this aspect of behaviour.
Britain and Europe are displaying weaknesses and Putin can see it and exploit it. This is unacceptable. It makes the UK even more vulnerable than it is (with a very weak defence force). This adds to the failure of this inept government.
I have used the word “inept” quite a lot but I’m justified in doing so. This government has made 12 U-turns over the time that they had been in office. They’re going to make a U-turn over public houses to reduce the business rates to prevent pubs going bust.
This move follows 11 other U-turns from the government. The party has relaxed the inheritance tax paid by farmers. They dropped plans for day one protection from unfair dismissal. They scrapped the two child benefit limit. They shelved plans to raise the main rate of income tax. They drop welfare reforms. They agreed to commit to a national enquiry on grooming gangs. They increased national insurance and reinstated winter fuel payments for millions. And they dropped the claim that trans women are women. They also watered down plans to limit academy freedoms and dropped a pledge to act on Waspi women.
That is ineptitude of a high order. They are making decisions which have been proved to be wrong and they have been forced to make changes because of complaints from businesses and others including many backbenchers in their own party. Rachel Reeves is incompetent and Starmer is protecting her because he has to because if Reeves goes he has to go.
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