SNP: defence increase will see cuts elsewhere
The SNP have warned the UK government’s promise to increase defence spending means the budgets for other Whitehall departments will now be cut or frozen.
Rishi Sunak has committed to reaching 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, and spending an extra £75 billion more on defence over the next six years compared with existing levels. However, SNP defence spokesperson Martin Dochertyhughes has now claimed the plans are not costed and will leave funding “black holes” in a host of other areas.
While supporting an increase, the West Dunbartonshire MP argued there was no plan and accused the Prime Minister of blatant “electioneering”.
He said: “It’s smoke and mirrors, that will leave black holes right across a range of other budget headings. It’s a cannibalisation of the current budgets.
“If we talk about flat spend, in real terms, getting into the minutia of it all, if there’s no borrowing and no debt, where is it coming from – behind the couch?”
Mr Docherty-hughes pointed to recent funding increases in Australia, carried out with an investment programme.
He said: “You don’t see any of that from the UK government and I doubt you’d see any of that from an incoming Labour Government. They’ll look at the books and be absolutely terrified. They [the Tories] are wanting [Sir Keir] Starmer to inherit all their bad choices.
“It’s going to be draconian. Of course you want to invest in Scotland, but you want to invest in capability.”
His comments came just hours after the Prime Minister declined to rule out cuts to other spending areas outside the NHS and schools, defending his pledge as “fully funded”. The commitment will be funded by slashing 72,000 civil service jobs, but economists have warned it will also require deep cuts in other areas of public spending.
Asked at a press conference yesterday in Berlin whether his defenceincreasewillmeantax rises and deep cuts, Mr Sunak said that was “not a fair characterisation”.
“The plan that I announced yesterday is fully funded,” he said. “It’s funded rightly by a reduction in the civil service headcount back to 2019 levels … combined with an uplift in R&D spending (research and development).”
Pressed to rule out further cuts, the Prime Minister said: “We have record investment in our public services, including the NHS – that’s not going to change, it’s going to continue.”
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said unprotected areas of public spending would now face cuts of around 4 per cent a year after 2025 to help meet the defence commitment.
Downing Street said the plan would cost £4.5 billion in 2028/29, of which £2.9bn would come from savings due to the reduction in the size of the civil service, with £1.6bn coming from the research and development budget.
Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey accused the UK government of producing a “fake figure” of £75bn.
It’s smoke and mirrors, that will leave black holes right across a range of other budget headings SNP defence spokesperson Martin Docherty-hughes