Labour peer George Robertson – author of the landmark Strategic Defence Review- has today aimed all of his guns at Starmer and his government for “corrosive complacency” on defence. The Defence Investment Plan was meant to set out funding for the SDR’s proposals – it has been delayed by half a year so far…
Robertson was Defence Secretary from 1997 to 1999 and NATO Secretary General from then until 2003. He has trailed remarks from a speech to be given tonight in the FT:
“There is a corrosive complacency today in Britain’s political leadership. Lip service is paid to the risks, the threats, the bright red signals of danger — but even a promised national conversation about defence can’t be started.
We are underprepared. We are underinsured. We are under attack. We are not safe . . . Britain’s national security and safety is in peril.”
Robertson has it in for Rachel Reeves, who he points out used “a mere 40 words on defence in over an hour” in her Budget speech and in the Spring Statement “she used none.” In addition he accuses “non-military experts in the Treasury” of “vandalism”…
He adds: “We cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget.” Something that has been blindingly obvious to some of us for something approaching decades now – while main domestic plank of Starmer’s government has been increasing spending on benefits…
Green Deputy Leader Rachel Millward said:
“The reality is that it’s Zack Polanski who brought the nation, Andy Burnham. And if we hadn’t had the success of the Green Party in this last year since Zack’s been leading, which has been unprecedented, phenomenal success and a growth from about 60,000 members to 230,000, if we hadn’t had that much pressure on Labour, then we’d probably still be in the Starmer regime, which was pretty much ushering in a Reform government with its lurch to the right. So actually, what we’re seeing now is that we’ve set the political agenda and the government is picking that up.”