Rishi Sunak’s defence pledge sets trap for Sir Keir Starmer
On the plane from Warsaw to Berlin, Rishi Sunak was buoyant as he briefly chatted to the travelling pack.
Having delivered his hat-trick of welfare reforms, the Rwanda bill and now the big lift in defence spending, he was a prime minister who clearly feels on the front foot after a torrid few months.
He looked like a man enjoying the job.
Politics live: Sunak warns Europe is at a ‘turning point’
Allies said Mr Sunak has spoken a lot about the spending decision with his current Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron, who has “form” in prioritising these decisions, having committed to defence funding back in 2010 when he was prime minister in the face of competing spending demands.
“The PM’s thought about this a lot, which is why it’s so detailed today,” said one government source.
The big decision he announced in this election year to increase defence spending to 2.5% by 2030 was a choice.
He could have committed funding to schools, the NHS or local government. But, for this prime minister, it was the right choice.
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It might not be the most salient issue for voters at home, but in his speech today, he left his audience in little doubt about the risks we are facing with the rise of authoritarian regimes, such as China, Russia and Iran, working together to undermine our democracies and way of life.
But equally, Mr Sunak made this commitment knowing all too well that it may not be him that has to deliver it.
And while the sum is really big – £75bn of spending over the next six years – for this year the only commitment will be £500m for Ukraine, with the remainder of the funding coming in the next parliament.
Read more:
Sunak: World more volatile and dangerous than at any time since Cold War
On the assumed baseline, the government had already allocated the additional funding for 2.3% defence spending annually in the next parliament.
Increasing that to 2.5% by 2028-29 will, in cash terms, require £4.5bn of funding, which the government says will be paid for through £1.6bn from the annual research and development budget and £2.9bn from 70,000 cuts to civil servant jobs, taking the workforce back to pre-pandemic levels.
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PM: ‘We cannot be complacent’
It is a clear political trap for Sir Keir Starmer, who spent much of his early years as Labour leader trying to undo the damage done by his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn – who did not support NATO.
Starmer trap
Sir Keir has sought to re-establish Labour’s security credentials in recent years, most notably in his stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict, in which he has made sure he sticks to the US position and stands with the government on matters of national security.
So this is a big test.
Sir Keir said recently that he wanted to commit to the 2.5% of “when resources allow”, giving a future Labour government some wriggle room as it contemplates how to allocate scarce public resource.
Because, as the polls stand, Mr Sunak won’t be the prime minister having to deliver on defence-spending pledges, and already Conservative politicians are challenging Labour to commit to their plans, knowing all too well that it reduces the party’s manoeuvrability in government should it win the general election.
Hard call
And this is a hard call for the Labour leader, who has been desperate to present himself as a politician who also puts the security of the nation above all else.
In Poland, Mr Sunak evoked Winston Churchill, saying: “We did not choose this moment, but it is for us to meet it.”
He also said that to lead was to make choices, and his choice was to protect his citizens above all else.
How can Starmer refuse to meet the commitment?
A top Downing Street aide has resigned after sending sexually explicit messages about independent MP Diane Abbott, Sky News understands.
Paul Ovenden, who was the director of strategy at Number 10, is understood to have left the role on Monday after a number of instant messages from 2017 became public.
Sky News understands he did so to avoid becoming a “distraction” for Sir Keir Starmer, just days after he was forced to sack the UK’s ambassador to the US – Peter Mandelson – over his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The messages, exchanged between Mr Ovenden and a female colleague, contained the graphic retelling of a conversation he reportedly overheard about Ms Abbott while at a party.
The former aide has alleged these were not his original words, but said he “deeply regrets” sharing them.
He said: “I really, deeply regret my sharing this story, and the hurt and embarrassment its publication will cause.
“Accordingly, I have brought forward my resignation to today as I do not want to be a distraction from the government’s work.”
Diane Abbott
It is understood Mr Ovenden announced to colleagues before the summer recess he was leaving his role, and had planned to leave “quietly and quickly” sometime this month.
However, in the wake of the publication of these messages, Mr Ovenden “brought forward” his resignation to today.
The messages, exchanged with a female colleague and seen by Sky News, described a game of “shag, marry, kill” the aide overheard while at a party in May 2017.
This involved explicit descriptions about suspended Labour MP Ms Abbott.
A Number 10 spokesperson said: “These messages are appalling and unacceptable.
“As the first black woman to be elected to parliament, Diane Abbott is a trailblazer who has faced horrendous abuse throughout her political career.
“These kinds of comments have no place in our politics.”
Sky News has contacted Ms Abbott for comment.
The latest Number 10 resignation comes as Sir Keir admitted he never would have appointed Lord Mandelson to the post of UK ambassador to the US if he had known what he knows now about the extent of his association with Epstein.
Speaking publicly for the first time since he sacked Mandelson last Thursday, the prime minister explained that a “due diligence process” was conducted before he was appointed to the post in February.
“I knew of his association with Epstein,” Sir Keir said.
“But had I known then what I know now, I’d have never appointed him.”
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‘Had I known then, what I know now, I’d have never appointed him’ Starmer said.
Just days before Lord Mandelson was sacked, Angela Rayner resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary after admitting she did not pay enough tax on her second home.
She also quit as deputy leader of the Labour Party, an elected post.
Sir Keir’s second-in-command admitted to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that she should have paid the higher rate of stamp duty on a home she bought in Hove, East Sussex, as it was her second property.
UK crypto and payments groups urged the Bank of England to drop plans to cap individual stablecoin holdings, claiming the move would be costly and hard to enforce.
Atkins signaled a departure from the enforcement-first approach of the SEC during Gensler’s leadership, including preliminary notices prior to enforcement actions.
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