Cartlidge Calls UK Defence Plan Too Late After 14 Years of Army Cuts
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 30
Cartlidge Calls UK Defence Plan Too Late After 14 Years of Army Cuts
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 30
Summary
James Cartlidge said the UK’s new defence investment plan lacks the funding and hardware needed to keep Britain safe, arguing key capabilities will arrive after current threats have already intensified.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, the shadow defence secretary said the long-delayed plan “isn’t delivering” because it has neither enough money nor a fast enough timetable, and accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of being too weak to secure more funding.
Questioned over the Conservatives’ own record during 14 years in power, Cartlidge accepted army numbers fell to their lowest since the Napoleonic era and said governments since 1989 had relied on a post-Cold War “peace dividend.”
He argued Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine changed the security picture, using that shift to defend his party’s later record on funding and arming Kyiv.