Threat from Russia is growing and there is no urgency from the PM… he has shown a total failure to lead on defence

ANDY BURNHAM didn’t misspeak when he told me that “our national ­security cannot come at the expense of our social security”. He was finally being honest with the country about where his priorities lie. Andy Burnham didn’t misspeak when he said that ‘our national ­security cannot come at the expense of our social security’ Credit: Crown Copyright Vladimir Putin is watching, just as he is watching what’s happening across Europe Credit: AFP I couldn’t believe the words that had come out of his mouth. Labour MPs, on the other hand, cheered . . . apparently forgetting that those words weren’t just heard in Westminster or Manchester; they were also heard in Moscow. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! If it’s a choice between funding defence and funding more benefits, Burnham is picking benefits every time. And Vladimir Putin is watching, just as he is watching what’s happening across Europe. On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said France had been targeted by Russian attacks in the past few weeks, and he ordered a plan to protect French critical infrastructure and defence industry sites. Days earlier the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, had told his MPs that Russia was planning drone and missile strikes on countries supporting Ukraine. On September 1, Germany said they suspected Russia was responsible for a drone attack at Leipzig airport in August. The threat is very real and it’s growing. Yet we see no urgency at all from the Labour Government. Most read in The Sun In fact, we see the opposite. There remains a £5billion hole in the already inadequately funded “Defence Investment Plan”, and whenever I ask Andy Burnham about the need to increase defence spending, he tells me he’s committed to meeting the Nato target in 2035. 2035? That’s almost a decade away! It was Keir Starmer who told the country that our intelligence services believed there could be an attack by Russia on Nato as soon as 2030, meaning Britain would be at war. Now, while France and Poland increase the pace of their war readiness, at the start of this month the British Army had to stop non-essential training exercises to save money. Burnham’s response? “Ask me again in ten years.” I don’t say this lightly, but the PM is putting our national security and the safety of everyone in Britain at risk by making defence spending a lower priority than welfare. Worse still, he thinks he can get away with it. Labour MPs are right behind him on this issue. A passenger locomotive burns following a Russian drone strike in Ukraine Credit: Reuters At the start of this month the British Army had to stop non-essential training exercises to save money Credit: Getty Remember, it was the Welfare Secretary Pat McFadden who said that, at every meeting with Labour MPs, they would ask him: “Who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others?” This is a total failure of leadership from Burnham. Defence of the nation is the first duty of government. We need to increase our defence spending every year so we get to three per cent of GDP by 2030. Anything after that is too late. John Healey resigned as Defence Secretary at the start of summer because he agreed with that statement. In fact, he said the Government’s plans would make our country and our troops “less safe”. That must have been a different John Healey from the one now in 11 Downing Street who is suddenly fine with a plan the other John Healey resigned over. Finding the money to pay for defence means making tough choices . . . something Burnham is reluctant to do. Finding the money to pay for defence means making tough choices . . . something Burnham is reluctant to do Credit: Alamy Ms Badenoch says: ‘We are ready, we will put national security first, and even work with the Government where necessary to ensure our country is properly defended’ Credit: The Times Two weeks ago, I set out how the Conservatives will get defence spending to three per cent of GDP by 2030 and how we would pay for it. We are not afraid of difficult decisions. It’s what we are elected to do. It means cutting the bloated welfare budget so we can give our troops the equipment, housing and training they need. I had already announced that the Conservatives would reinstate the two-child benefit cap, because we believe that those on benefits should have to make the same choices about having children as those who aren’t. Added to that we have a plan to change housing benefit so that those on benefits have to make the same decisions on where they can afford to live as those who aren’t. Alongside junking the disastrous £35billion Chagos deal and repurposing the money ploughed into Net Zero projects for a sovereign defence fund, I have shown that hitting three per cent by the end of the decade can be done and how we should do it. If I can do this, why can’t Andy Burnham? And let’s not forget, three per cent is just the minimum our country needs to stay safe. The Government must now explain what it knows about the escalations in Eastern Europe, how it assesses the threat posed by Russia, and what it plans to do about it. In the meantime, the Conservatives are gearing up. My new Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat, and Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge, are working with purpose on more plans to keep our country safe. We know that after Labour makes a mess, Conservatives have to clean it up. So we are ready, we will put national security first, and even work with the Government where necessary to ensure our country is properly defended. It remains to be seen if Burnham will take up that offer. Comment now