Defence Spending

Debate between Lord Coaker and Lord Barber of Chittlehampton

Thursday 10th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

I do not have the exact answer at my fingertips, but the defence industry is an important part of this country’s defence and what we do. There are thousands upon thousands of jobs right across the nation which depend on a legitimate defence industry contract, and that is also part of the defence of our country. I go to Select Committees where I defend those exports against the very strict criteria that we have. This country has a proud record of ensuring that, as far as we can, the defence industries comply with all the various international rules to which they should do. It is a legitimate business, and we seek to encourage it.

[Lord Barber of Chittlehampton (Lab)]

My Lords, given the pace of change in the nature of defence and warfare, does my noble friend the Minister agree that expenditure on defence research is increasingly important and that the establishment of the Defence Universities Alliance is a major step forward?

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

Yes, I do. My noble friend makes an important point, because research and development is a battleground as well. If we can get in front of our adversaries in terms of the technological battle, that will make a real difference. I will lay this out to your Lordships’ House: the drone technology space is a competing space. If you can block your adversaries from communicating with their drones, ships or warplanes, you are halfway towards defeating them. Therefore, the technological space is crucially important. That is backed by the world-class research that we have in our country.