‘I will cut taxes and boost UK defences’
Sunak says both are possible as military budget rises £75bn
RISHI Sunak has pledged tax cuts and increased defence spending as his party attempts to win back voters before the next election.
The Prime Minister this week described his pledge for defence spending to reach 2.5 per cent of GDP as “fully funded”.
Officials said that the commitment of over £75bn more spent on defence over the next six years would be funded by cutting 72,000 jobs in the civil service.
He insisted that the plans would not affect his party’s ability to cut taxes, with the Conservatives already aiming to abolish National Insurance contributions which would also cost tens of billions.
“It is a completely funded plan,” he told broadcasters yesterday during a visit to Germany.
“We have got a very clear idea of how to reduce civil service headcount which has grown considerably over the last few years, and we can bring that back and use that to fund what I announced yesterday.
“And alongside that, continue to invest in public services and cut people’s taxes.”
Questions have been raised over the sustainability of his plans, and whether the additional tens of billions on defence can be afforded without deep cuts to public services.
Pressed to rule out further cuts, the Prime Minister said: “We have record investment in our public services, including the NHS – that’s not going to change, it’s going to continue.”
Asked at a press conference in Berlin whether his defence increase will mean tax rises and deep cuts, he said that was “not a fair characterisation”.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said unprotected areas of public spending will now face cuts of around four per cent a year after 2025 to help meet the defence commitment.
“For decades, steady reductions in the amount spent on defence allowed for extra spending on things like the NHS without a need to increase taxes. In essence, we replaced a warfare state with a welfare state,” IFS economist Ben Zaranko said.
“The challenge now is that we’re going to have to pay for both.”
Downing Street said the plan would cost £4.5bn in 2028/29, of which £2.9bn would come from savings due to the reduction in the size of the civil service, with £1.6bn coming from the research and development budget.
Details would be set out at a future spending review, the spokeswoman said.
Lord Cameron, inset, said that leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is not “necessary” to prevent small boat crossings amid Tory divisions over the UK’s membership of the treaty. But the Foreign Secretary appeared to concede that a returns agreement with France to break up people-smuggling gangs is “simply not possible” because of “the situation we’re in”.
Rishi Sunak’s Bill aimed at blocking further setbacks to the Government’s controversial Rwanda deportation scheme has passed through Parliament following months of wrangling.
While the legislation is now poised to become law, ministers are braced for legal challenges and the judiciary has made 25 courtrooms available.
The Prime Minister previously hinted he would be willing to leave the ECHR if it prevented him from implementing his policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Earlier this week, Wes Streeting, the Shadow Health Secretary, said that Westminster is “awash” with talk about the possibility of a July election.
Speaking at health questions, Mr Streeting told the House of Commons that this was presumably going to happen to avoid giving the Prime Minister’s Rwanda “gimmick” time to fail.
RISHI Sunak said the UK and Germany will provide “unwavering support” for Ukraine “for as long as it takes”, as he visited Berlin to deepen defence and security ties between the two allies.
The Prime Minister said “every country has got different things that it can bring to the table” after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his decision not to deliver Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv “will not change”.
Mr Scholz has refused to send the German-made missiles to Ukraine for fear of a wider escalation of the war, or even drawing Germany into direct conflict with Russia.
The Chancellor, pointing to Germany’s delivery of Leopard tanks and other systems, told a joint press conference at the chancellery that he would not change his mind on Taurus.
Mr Sunak said: “Every country has got different things that it can bring to the table.”
He praised Mr Scholz’s recent commitment of another Patriot missile system to bolster Ukraine’s air defence, which he called one of Kyiv’s “key needs”.
He added: “Thankfully, a wide and broad coalition of countries are united in wanting to support Ukraine. Everyone can bring something slightly different and complementary to the table. The key thing is that we’re united on wanting to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Mr Scholz also underlined the allies’ continuing backing of Kyiv.
“Germany and the UK are the biggest supporters of Ukraine in Europe and we will continue our support for as long as necessary,” he said.
Mr Sunak, calling Mr Scholz “mein freund” – or “my friend”, said: “Together we will continue to provide unwavering support for our Ukrainian friends, as you said, for as long as it takes.” He praised the German Chancellor’s “historic decision” to increase defence spending under his “Zeitenwende” policy following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Mr Sunak said: “At this dangerous moment, the bond between our two nations is stronger than ever. We meet as a war rages on our continent and new threats are rising around the world.”
The two leaders agreed to deepen UK-German defence co-operation, announcing the joint development of remote-controlled Howitzer 155mm wheeled artillery systems to be fitted to Boxer armoured fighting vehicles. They will also co-operate on producing renewable energy from the North Sea, and discussed joint efforts to tackle organised immigration crime.
It was Mr Sunak’s first visit to the German capital since entering No 10, and came after he faced pressure to visit senior politicians from one of the UK’s most powerful European allies.
Yesterday Mr Sunak also met with chief executives of German businesses including Siemens, with No 10 saying German firms will announce new investment into the UK worth some £8bn.
The Prime Minister’s stop in Berlin follows his visit to Warsaw, where he promised to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 in the face of threats from an “axis of authoritarian states” including Russia and China.
Asked if he was convinced of Donald Trump’s commitment to Nato, Mr Sunak said: “We cannot expect Americans to pay any price, to take any burden if we in Europe are not ourselves prepared to make those sacrifices and make those investments.”