Starmer couldn’t be clearer: Britain must prepare for war

Clement Attlee was the Labour prime minister credited with creating the welfare state.

On Monday, at a shipbuilding yard in Glasgow, Sir Keir Starmer presented himself as a Labour prime minister who wants to be credited with turning the UK into a warfare-ready state, as he spoke of the need for the UK to be prepared for the possibility of war at the launch of his government’s Strategic Defence Review.

The rhetoric couldn’t be clearer: Britain is on a wartime footing.

The UK’s armed forces must move to “war-fighting readiness” over the coming years, the UK faces a “more serious and immediate” threat than anytime since the Cold War, and “every citizen must play their part”.

Politics latest: Britain must be ‘battle-ready’

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The prime minister promised to fulfil the recommendations of the 10-year strategic defence plan, which will be published in full on Monday afternoon.

But what he refused to do was explain when he would deliver on spending 3% of GDP on defence – the commitment necessary to deliver the recommendations in the Strategic Defence Review.

PM is sticking plasters over wounds

His refusal to do so blunts his argument. On the one hand, the prime minister insists there is no greater necessity than protecting citizens, while on the other hand, he says his ability to deliver 3% of spending on defence is “subject to economic and fiscal conditions”.

This is a prime minister who promised an end to “sticking plaster politics”, who promised to take difficult decisions in the interest of the country.

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One of those difficult decisions could well be deciding, if necessary, to cut other budgets in order to find the 3% needed for defence spending.

Instead, the prime minister is sticking plasters over wounds.

After voters lashed out at Labour in the local elections, the Starmer government announced it was going to look again at the cut to pensioners’ winter fuel allowance.

There is an expectation, too, that Sir Keir is planning to lift the two-child cap on benefits. Refusing to lift the cap was one of his hard choices going into the election, but now he is looking soft on it.

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What choices is Starmer prepared to make?

That’s why I asked him on Monday what the choices are that he’s going to make as prime minister. Is his choice properly-funded defence, or is it to reverse winter fuel cuts, or lift the two-child benefit cap?

If he needs to be the prime minister creating the warfare state, can he also deliver what voters and his own MPs want when it comes to the welfare state?

To hit the 3% target, Sir Keir would have to find an extra £13bn. That’s difficult to find, and especially difficult when the government is reversing on difficult decisions its made on cuts.

For now, the prime minister doesn’t want to answer the question about the choices he’s perhaps going to make. But if he is really clear-eyed about the security threat and what is required for the UK to become ready for war, it is question he is going to have to answer.