Defence Investment Plan

Neil Shastri-Hurst Excerpts

Tuesday 30th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

My hon. Friend is right to raise the importance of our people and making sure that they are properly supported. I know that she, as a local Member of Parliament for Portsmouth, takes these matters seriously. Of course, we would be delighted to meet her.

[Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley) (Con)]

In response to the DIP, the noble Lord Hutton, a former Labour Defence Secretary, said that

“the centres of resistance across Whitehall to extra defence spending have been allowed to prosper and they haven’t been overcome.”

He went on to say that, as a consequence, our armed forces will not be war-ready by the end of this Parliament. Does the Defence Secretary disagree with the noble Lord? How do the £10.7 billion in cuts to the MOD budget enhance our armed forces’ readiness?

[Dan Jarvis]

I pay tribute to Lord Hutton for the work he did when he was Defence Secretary. We listen very carefully to all those who take a view about the policies that we have brought forward. It is not unreasonable, however, to reiterate the commitment that we have made today: £298 billion, including £15 billion of new money, is contained in this defence investment plan, with an increase in real terms of 27% by 2029-30. That demonstrates a real commitment. Do we need to do more? Yes, I have been consistently clear that we do. We will listen to Lord Hutton and others in shaping that debate, but I am confident that the next spending review will provide the resources we need to meet the targets that we have committed ourselves to achieving.