Threat facing UK is 'real' but new Prime Minister faces 'difficult decisions' to fill defence spending hole
Luke Pollard said the next budget will set out how the government intent to fund the gap The new Prime Minister will be forced to make "some difficult decisions" to help fill the £4.7 billion black hole left by Sir Keir Starmer's Defence Investment Plan (DIP), Luke Pollard has told LBC. The Defence Minister said the threats the UK face is "real" and said it was important the government increases its defence budgets imminently. The outgoing Prime Minister has faced scrutiny since the plan was announced on Tuesday after Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Treasury needs to decide where £4.7bn of the £15bn of extra cash will come from.It is understood that prospective PM Andy Burnham was briefed on the DIP before it was published, but was not told that he would have to find more money to fund it in full.Read more: Defence Secretary denies fallout with military chiefs over £15bn investment plan but admits 'more still to do'Read more: Burnham left to find extra cash as Starmer leaves £5bn defence spending hole to fill at next PM's first Budget
Luke Pollard defended the government's spending plan.
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Getty
The DIP has been criticised by military chiefs for not going far enough, but defending it, Mr Pollard told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: "It's not unusual for governments to make an announcement on what they want to spend and then set out how they will do so in the next budget."The Conservatives in power previously did that fairly frequently."Discussing the difficult decisions that will have to be made, Mr Pollard said: "Let me explain the £15 billion."We've asked other government departments to give up 1p in the pound of their capital budgets to help fund the £10 billion of the £15 billion defence spending uplift. "There's some difficult decisions, especially in the transport budget, in the roads budget, to make that happen."Of the £10 billion, it's roughly about £700 million that comes from the Department for Transport, that asks for three per cent of the roads budget during this period, so it is a lot of money.
Rachel Reeves (right) and Sir Keir Starmer look at drones following the publication of the DIP.
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Alamy
"I recognise that some of the road decisions that we've asked other departments to make are quite serious and they're difficult and I get that."The reason that we're asking people to make those decisions is because the threats we face are real."Making decisions that reallocate this level of money outside of a spending review is quite unprecedented."It's quite rare for this to take place and so the reason that the Prime Minister and Chancellor have done so is because the threats are real and we need to increase defence spending now."The Department for Transport and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will be forced to find additional savings of £800 million and £2 billion respectively.
Luke Pollard on LBC.
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LBC
This money is expected to come from cancelling or delaying projects, in a move which has already caused some disquiet among MPs concerned about spending that had been promised to their constituencies.Ms Reeves said another £2.4 billion had been found by the Treasury taking responsibility for the costs of "ongoing international objectives" such as providing security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.Mr Pollard added: "I want to see that spending on the latest kit and equipment and that's why the plan sets out the massive investment in drones, refilling our munition stockpiles."[There will be] £9 billion to end the scandal of military accommodation that's frankly not good enough for our people to live in.
Andy Burnham faces a task to fill the £4.7bn gap should he become PM.
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Alamy
"We're making sure that we're investing in the latest ships for the Royal Navy, the latest autonomous jets for our next generation RAF that's the focus of plan."Throwing his support behind Mr Burnham, who is expected to be sworn in as Sir Keir's replacement later this month, Mr Pollard added: "I've got absolute confidence in him that he understands that the first duty of any government is to protect the national security."Labour governments have always increased defence spending. "We have a good record on defence. In fact, this Labour government's spending more on defence than in any single year of the last Conservative government by a considerable margin. "We're doing that because it's the right thing to do."
