Watch: Tories and Lib Dems want 2.5% defence spending pathway
The lack of a clear plan that will result in the UK spending 2.5% of GDP on defence puts the country's security at risk, the shadow defence secretary has warned.
In Labour's first budget in 14 years, it was outlined that the MOD would receive a boost of £2.9bn, which was welcomed by both James Cartlidge and Helen Maguire, Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson.
However, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the first woman to deliver a budget in UK history, did not commit to when the UK would hit the defence spending goal.
She instead said it would be at a future fiscal event, something Mr Carltidge said puts the UK at risk.
"Not only do we not have a timetable to get to two-and-a-half per cent, we do not have a timetable to get to the timetable," he said.
"And that's a huge uncertainty from the MOD's point of view, so I do think that's regrettable.
"I do think that undermines the Armed Forces and at the worst possible time."
Mr Cartlidge also said he fears this "relatively small level of support… won't be enough for the challenge we have, given the threats we face".
He added that having a plan to reach 2.5% spending is important because it could have allowed the UK's defence industry to start "ramping up production".
"As everyone knows, the war we're seeing in Ukraine is in many ways a war of industrial production.
"Shells, all the munitions that we need, those vital munitions we've gifted to Ukraine, we could start replenishing them at scale," he said.
His views were echoed by Ms Maguire, who said the Lib Dems were "disappointed" Labour hadn't set out a pathway to spending, urging Labour to spend money now on the Armed Forces.
"At the moment with war raging in Europe, it's absolutely vital that we start spending more on defence," she said.
"The Conservative government massively reduced our Army personnel numbers. And what we need to see is that reversal of the 10,000 troop numbers.
"I know they mentioned they would be spending £3bn a year on Ukraine, but we have to spend this money urgently now.
"We've got to make sure that they've got the equipment and we've got the personnel to have a really fully sustainable Armed Forces."
Another contentious topic that was mentioned in the budget was plans to increase VAT on private school fees to 20%, with no military exemption.
Before the budget, Mr Cartlidge had urged in the House of Commons that military families were exempt from the increase, with the Defence Secretary reportedly looking at possibilities.
But, when the Budget was announced, there was no word of the military being excluded from the hike, something Mr Cartlidge said risks lots of experienced people "leaving the forces at the worst possible time".
"We have a war in Europe, we have the threats in the Middle East that we face, we all know that the last thing we need is to lose more and more of our people," he said.
"This is terrible timing and I wanted to see the maximum effort made, and to me that was an exemption for the children of all military families."
Labour are, however, saying they will increase the CEA (Continuity of Education Allowance), a payment that helps military families pay for their children's education when they move frequently for service reasons.
The allowance is intended to help children receive a consistent education and develop relationships with their peers and teachers. "I would still, to be clear, rather have them increasing CEA, but we now need to see the detail of that," Mr Cartlidge said.
Ms Maguire said we should wait and see what is revealed in the details of the plan to increase the VAT.
"All I can say is we'll wait to hear the details," she said. "It is absolutely vital that we really do support our Armed Forces families who move from one place to another very frequently.
"We've got to make sure that they have the educational support that they deserve.”
Published by Forces News.
