The Chancellor is told that by the end of Wednesday’s Budget statement he must resign if he has not delivered the extra funding needed to rescue armed forces
John Healey is urged to resign if he cannot fund the military adequately (Image: James McCauley/Shutterstock)
Chancellor John Healey has been told he must resign if he fails to set out how Britain will invest 3% of GDP in defence by 2030 in Wednesday’s Budget. Mr Healey helped bring down Sir Keir Starmer when he quit as his Defence Secretary in June in protest at the underfunding of the military and he is under mounting pressure to ensure the UK can deter the threat from Russia. The Conservatives are demanding Mr Healey “follow his own principles and resign” if he fails to provide a “credible pathway” to the funding target.
Andy Burnham and the Chancellor are also under pressure from Labour MPs. Tan Dhesi, who chairs the defence select committee, last month warned the Prime Minister against “kicking the can down the road” and called for him to “urgently commit” to 3% funding. On Thursday, the cross-party committee warned of “glaring gaps” in Britain’s ability to confront foes in the Arctic, stating that a shortage of warships and submarines left energy supplies and undersea cables exposed.
The Tories warn Mr Healey is now “responsible for the very Treasury decisions he previously condemned”. This comes days after the Government urged families to “be ready” for disruptions caused by national emergencies, advising households to stockpile three days’ worth of food and water. Conservatives accuse the Government of “completely missing the fact that it is Labour’s decisions that have left us unprepared and exposed to crises abroad”.
Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith said: “By the end of his Budget statement, John Healey must have fully funded 3% defence spending, or resign. We are living in an era of extraordinary threats, and yet the Chancellor is dithering over finding the money to pay the country’s insurance premium. No firm would be left unscathed by a serious attack on UK soil. It’s time for John Healey to get a grip, because you cannot have a strong economy without a strong defence.”
British soldiers are famed for their prowess – but do they have the resources to deter foes? (Image: Getty)
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge warned that failure to set out a plan for 3% defence funding would be a “dereliction of duty”. He said: “In an increasingly uncertain and dangerous world, with threats growing on multiple fronts, we need to get serious about funding defence and make the tough choices needed to protect our national security. That means cutting welfare spending and investing billions into improving our defensive capability. Yet Burnham continues to prioritise a ballooning benefits bill over our national security.”
The Conservatives say hitting the target involves finding an extra £10billion a year for defence and this would be achieved through “difficult decisions” including “reforming housing benefit” and “reinstating the two-child benefit cap”.
A Treasury source said that in Mr Healey’s first interview as Chancellor he said “the first duty of any government is to keep the country safe and protect our citizens”.
John Healey will target tax dodgers who have bought foreign property (Image: Kirsty O’Connor / Treasury)
John Healey plans to target tax dodger who hide wealth overseas
Chancellor John Healey will announce a crackdown on tax dodgers who hide their wealth in overseas property in Wednesday’s Budget in a move he hopes till raise more than £100million. He wants Britain to sign-up to a new international agreement which will see property ownership information automatically shared between 25 jurisdictions including France, Germany and Spain.
The moves comes as the global tax system adapts to what the Treasury describes as “changing patterns of rule-breaking”. It argues that international action – such as automatic sharing of bank account information – has made it “much harder” to hide money in offshore accounts. This has led to some people using overseas property to “hide income and gains”. The Chancellor is said to be “determined” to ensure those hiding wealth overseas are forced to pay up.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “It’s simply not fair that honest taxpayers play by the rules while others hide wealth overseas to avoid paying what they owe. The Chancellor is closing the net on tax dodgers and making sure everyone pays their fair share.”
Wes Streeting has taken the reins at the Ministry of Defence (Image: Getty)
New Defence Secretary responds to Tory challenge to Healey
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said: “The public must be sick and tired of the Tories complaining about things they never did. They owe Britain an apology, not another lecture. Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives shrunk the British Army to its smallest size since the Napoleonic era and left a £17billion hole in the equipment plan. Their fantasy economics won’t keep Britain safe – just as their reckless hollowing out of our armed forces didn’t when they were in power. Andy Burnham has made it clear that his Labour Government is determined to give our Armed Forces the investment needed to keep us safe. In just two years, Labour has delivered the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, with funding already higher than at any point during 14 years of Conservative government.”