Andy Burnham must stop pleasing Putin and economically illiterate Labour backbenchers – and start protecting Brits

Putin benefits WITH Vladimir Putin gearing up to escalate his hybrid war against The West, the parlous state of Britain’s defences grows more alarming by the day. Meanwhile Andy Burnham has no plans to properly fund our nation’s military for another decade, let alone find a desperately needed increase in defence spending in the near future. The parlous state of Britain’s defences grows more alarming by the day, and Burnham has no plans to find a desperately needed increase in defence spending Credit: Getty Vladimir Putin is gearing up to escalate his hybrid war against The West Credit: AFP While he struggles to find 3 per cent of GDP for the defence budget by 2030, however, he’s having no problem massively increasing welfare costs by then. In benefits hotspots around the country, at least one in ten working-age adults is now getting unquestioned extra benefits through Universal Credit. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Meanwhile much-abused PIP sickness benefits are already costing the country £26billion a year — and the Office for Budget Responsibility predicts it will soar to a whopping £45billion by 2030. At that rate, it will soon overtake woefully inadequate defence spending. The PM insists national security cannot come at the expense of social security. Try telling military chiefs who are unable even to afford training exercises and rely on allies to protect our interests. It’s time people-pleaser Andy stopped pleasing Putin and economically illiterate Labour backbenchers, and started protecting the British people. Odds and sods LAST year we warned Labour — with the Save Our Bets campaign — that if it went ahead with swingeing tax rises on having a flutter, betting shops would close, jobs would be lost and sports would lose out on vital sponsorship. Most read in The Sun Ministers who do not understand working-class voters — or anybody who likes a bet — went ahead anyway. Now we see the real-world consequences. Betfred tycoon Fred Done warns that all high street bookies could close by 2030 and he is already walking away from sponsorship of rugby league. He adds that he could axe his firm’s lucrative deals with the Derby and other horse-racing Classics if things get worse, which is entirely possible. Labour is currently mulling over another raid, this time on the gaming machines that help keep bookies open and fund racing through subsequent subscriptions. This would be a disaster. Chancellor John Healey must avoid making an already bad situation worse. Ed first on fuel INEFFECTUAL Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey — remember him? — says he wants a cut in fuel duty to help drivers hammered by the cost of fuel. As the old saying goes, even a stopped clock is right once in a while. But it’s a timely reminder to the Chancellor of how widespread the backlash will be if he fails to keep fuel duty down. Comment now