What is the point of the Tories if they cut corners on defence?

STRONG national defence has been an instinctively tory issue for over a century.

From Winston Churchill triumphing over nazi evil to Margaret thatcher reclaiming the Falkland Islands, the party has been synonymous with military might.

By contrast, Labour has traditionally been seen by voters as weak on security – populated with peaceniks and not to be trusted with the Armed Forces.

But as tony Blair showed with law and order, it is capable of stealing the tories’ clothes on the unlikeliest political issues.

only yesterday, Labour defence spokesman John Healey gave a coherent speech outlining his plans should Labour win power. With an election in the offing, this should set alarm bells ringing at no10.

With a revanchist Russia, conflict in the Middle east and China destabilising geopolitics, these times are darker than any since the end of the Second World War.

So it becomes ever more important that democracies retain powerful military forces. Yet Britain is clearly more underpowered today than it has been for many years. depressingly, this was a deliberate choice.

At the end of the Cold War, the UK spent 4 per cent of GdP on defence. now it is just over 2 per cent, including forces pensions.

Successive governments of both major parties opted to cash in the ‘peace dividend’, assuming with criminal complacency that a major war was no longer a possibility.

Shrinking defence spending let them plough vast sums into health and welfare without significantly increasing taxes.

While this policy might have been voterfriendly, it was spectacularly naive.

Today, the Army is smaller than it has been for two centuries, the Royal navy is a pitiable shadow of its former strength and the RAF has woefully few combat jets. When top brass warn that we’d struggle to defend ourselves in a war, it is truly chilling.

Yet leaks suggest that, far from increasing the resources devoted to the Armed Forces, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt plans to freeze them in next week’s Budget.

that would be a monumental error. the Mail understands these are straitened times, but what is the point of the tories if they don’t ensure we have adequate defences?

there is a strong case for boosting military spending to 4 per cent of GDP, which would take the annual defence budget to around £70billion.

even though danger exists now, it would be impractical to do so immediately. But it should be done over the medium term – paid for either through economic growth or slashing the bloated public sector.

With the Budget seemingly a missed opportunity, the perfect time to announce such a surge in defence spending would be at nato’s 75th anniversary summit in July.

extra funding must also be accompanied by a shake-up of defence procurement.

For too long, the Ministry of defence has set a benchmark for waste, profligacy and incompetence. even when new kit or hardware does work, it invariably comes in late and over budget.

Look no further than our £7billion aircraft carriers. Prone to breaking down and without enough aircraft, they have proved to be a national embarrassment.

Yet just five years after one of them, HMS Prince of Wales, entered service, the navy is discussing mothballing or selling it to save money. It is a depressing metaphor for the ineptitude of the Mod.

Britain knows from bitter experience that despite the drumbeat of war growing ever louder from nazi Germany, we were woefully unprepared in 1939. We got away with it by the skin of our teeth – but we might not be so lucky next time.

to neglect the defence of the realm in any way jeopardises our security and threatens our status as a free nation.