Tories strip £90billion from defence during 13 years of cuts to the military

29 September 2023 , 15:00

894     0

Dozens of Challenger II tanks are being scrapped (Image: Getty Images)

Defence spending has been slashed by £90billion under the Tories, the Mirror can reveal.

When Labour was ejected from power 13 years ago, it was pumping 2.5% of the UK’s annual gross domestic product into the military. Analysis by the House of Commons Library showed that if the Conservatives had continued spending 2.5% from 2010, the armed forces would have had an extra £90.3bn.

Instead, the proportion of cash earmarked for the military dwindled to between 2% and 2.4% of GDP, according to researchers - meaning the UK only just managed to meet its NATO commitment to funnel at least 2% to defence. The revelation comes as rookie Defence Secretary Grant Shapps gears up for his debut speech in the role on Sunday to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

His predecessor Ben Wallace, who quit the Cabinet this month after his bid to become the next Secretary-General of NATO flopped, admitted in January that the Tories had “hollowed out and underfunded” defence. Thousands of troops have been cut from the armed forces, with tanks scrapped and equipment projects slashed.

Senior Labour MP John Spellar, who sits on the Commons Defence Select Committee and was a Defence Minister in Tony Blair’s Government, told the Mirror: “That money could have kept the numbers of our troops, sorted out their accommodation and given them the kit they need in an increasingly uncertain international environment. They have hollowed out not just the number of troops but they’ve also hollowed out the equipment as well.”

Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade

Rishi Sunak has vowed to return defence spending to 2.5% of GDP but failed to set a deadline for meeting the pledge. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has urged NATO allies to boost the cash they devote to their militaries. Liz Truss promised to hike defence spending at 3% of GDP by 2030 during her brief spell in Downing Street - a target since abandoned by Mr Sunak.

Challenged by the Mirror about defence spending in July, the PM pointed to £5bn "that was announced at Spring Budget which is strengthening the nuclear enterprise and rebuilding stockpiles".

* Follow Mirror Politics onSnapchat,Tiktok,TwitterandFacebook

Ben Glaze