Burnham insists defence uplift ‘can’t come at expense’ of welfare

Andy Burnham has insisted that increasing defence spending won't be "at the expense" of welfare programs. During Prime Minister's Questions, Burnham stated, "national security can’t come at the expense of social security" in response to criticism from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch over the lack of plans to raise defence spending to three percent of GDP.

The Prime Minister's spokesperson confirmed that Burnham still sees national security as the "first duty" of the government when asked for clarification. However, in Parliament, Burnham criticized the Conservatives' plan to cut housing benefits by £4 billion to fund defence spending. He warned that such reductions could lead to homelessness and homelessness for hundreds of thousands of children, with temporary accommodation.

Burnham emphasized that strong national security requires resilient communities. The Conservatives' plan includes reducing local housing allowances and cutting social sector rents. Meanwhile, the welfare budget is projected to increase to 11.1 percent of GDP in 2030, a jump of nearly £40 billion from the current 10.7 percent. Defending spending is only set to rise to 2.7 percent of GDP next year, with no clear funding plans to reach 3.5 percent of the UK economy by 2035 under a NATO commitment.

The government needs to find an extra £15 billion over four years in taxes and spending cuts to support the current Defence Investment Plan. Burnham aims to reduce the welfare bill and cites reviews by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn and Sir Stephen Timms on young people out of employment, education, and training, as well as disability payments, which are not expected until after the Budget.

Burnham opposes "crude cuts" to the welfare bill after Sir Keir Starmer's government failed to deliver £5 billion in savings on disability payments. Chancellor John Healey faces pressure to raise defence spending, as he left Starmer's previous government over a failure to fund a three percent GDP increase in military expenditure by 2030.

The government plans to outline its defence spending targets at next year's Spending Review rather than the Budget.