Robertson Warns Labour Public Spending Must Be Cut to Fund UK Defense Commitments
Updated
Updated · POLITICO Europe · Jun 10
Robertson Warns Labour Public Spending Must Be Cut to Fund UK Defense Commitments
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO Europe · Jun 10
Summary
George Robertson told Labour MPs Britain will have to cut public sector spending to pay for defense, warning the shift will bring “pain and great difficulty” for the governing party.
Britain’s military spending pledges and NATO commitments must come from domestic budgets, he said, because there is “no money, no surplus money at all.”
Robertson, a former UK defence secretary and ex-NATO chief, helped write last year’s Strategic Defence Review, giving his warning added weight inside Labour and Westminster.
The remarks sharpen the political trade-off facing Labour as it tries to meet higher defense goals without new surplus funds.