Julian Knight
Main Page: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)Department Debates - View all Julian Knight's debates with the Wales Office
(9 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberWith the danger of introducing too much politics into this answer, I have to say that at the general election our party stood on the proposal of £8 billion more for the NHS—effectively, it was £10 billion more for the NHS—and we have set out where every penny piece of that is coming from. At that election, the Labour party did not support an extra £8 billion for the NHS; it did not back the Stephens plan. The truth is if we want proper reform for a seven-day NHS and the resources that go with a successful NHS, it is the Conservative party that will deliver.
Q5. In a world in which we have a nuclear North Korea, a rampant and aggressive Russia and the pure evil of the so-called Islamic State, will the Prime Minister agree that, to protect our security and way of life, we simply must have an independent nuclear deterrent?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Defence is the most important duty for a Government and for a Prime Minister. The cornerstone of our defence will remain the 2% spending to which we are committed with the increased defence budget in this Parliament, the membership of NATO and Britain’s own independent nuclear deterrent as the ultimate insurance policy in what is a dangerous world. The fact that the Labour party is turning away from those things is deeply regrettable. National security is the most important thing a Government can deliver and we will never fall short.