Lee Anderson is not happy with Starmer’s reluctance to increase UK defence spending, calling it a betrayal of promises made to the public
London: So, Lee Anderson is really fired up about Sir Keir Starmer’s stance on defence spending. Reports say the UK isn’t planning to bump it up to 2.5% of GDP, and Anderson is not having it.
He’s pointing fingers at Starmer, saying it’s just another case of the Prime Minister not keeping his word. Remember when Starmer promised to raise defence spending? Yeah, that seems to have gone out the window.
Anderson mentioned that back in July, Starmer called it a “cast-iron commitment.” Now, it looks like Labour is backing away from that promise without much of an explanation. Classic, right?
He’s also not shy about saying that Labour is wasting money on other things, like immigration and climate policies, instead of focusing on defence. He thinks it’s time to question the government’s priorities.
Anderson believes this lack of focus on defence shows a real disregard for public trust and national security. He’s worried about how this affects the UK’s standing with allies, too.
Interestingly, this all comes after a chat between Starmer and Donald Trump, which was described as “warm and personal.” Trump even hinted at visiting the UK soon.
In their 2024 manifesto, Labour did say they’d conduct a Strategic Defence Review and aim for that 2.5% spending goal. But with all this backtracking, who knows what will happen?
