The government has so far given short shrift to alternative funding sources, such as proposals to join a Defense, Security and Resilience Bank or innovation bonds.
Influential figures in British security circles, such as Robertson and former No.10 foreign policy adviser John Bew, continue to argue that the government needs to completely rethink welfare expenditure — which has soared since the pandemic — in order to meet the threats facing the U.K.
However, Labour MPs from different segments of the 403-strong parliamentary party told POLITICO there was little appetite for significant welfare reforms, and that it would appear an even less attractive option after local elections in May, when the party will come under pressure on the left from the Green Party.
Calvin Bailey, a Labour MP on the House of Commons defence committee, said there was a need for “the urgent national conversation that Lord Robertson rightly highlights,” but called for “more creativity about solutions for capitalizing rearmament.”
The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales departs Rosyth dockyard in Scotland in September 2019.
Graeme Downie, whose Dunfermline constituency is home to defense jobs at Rosyth Dockyard, said: “We must resist the narrative of this simply being a straight choice of defense or welfare. It is a false choice where, in all probability, defense loses, everyone is less safe and we’re unable to effectively tackle poverty either.”
A Labour MP who played a key role in last year’s welfare rebellion, granted anonymity like others in this piece to speak candidly, said they “just can’t see” the government trying again to make savings from welfare.