Tories suggest benefits should be slashed for those with ‘anxiety’ in order to boost defence spending – as ex-minister demands Britain becomes ‘more resilient’

The Tories today called for Britain’s ‘ballooning’ welfare payments – such as benefits for those with anxiety – to be slashed in order to fund greater defence spending.

Ex-defence minister James Cartlidge, now shadow defence secretary, said there was a need for Britain to become ‘more resilient’ and invest greater sums in ‘hard power’.

The Conservatives have pointed to the foreign aid budget and the welfare budget as areas where cash could be saved in order to pump more into the Armed Forces.

The Labour Government is under increasing pressure to boost military spending following Donald Trump’s return as US President.

Pointing to the rise in the number of people on disability benefit, Mr Cartlidge said the UK had spent the ‘peace dividend’ since the end of the Cold War on more welfare.

‘We now have a situation where there’s been this very sharp increase in people on disability benefit – for anxiety, or whatever – people of working age,’ he told the BBC.

‘I’m afraid that can’t go on as a country. We’re going to have to be more resilient.’

Ex-defence minister James Cartlidge, now shadow defence secretary, said there was a need for Britain to become ‘more resilient’ and invest greater sums in ‘hard power’.

British troops are pictured loading a 105mm Howitzer during training in the Arctic Circle in Norway this month

The Labour Government is under increasing pressure to boost military spending following Donald Trump ‘s return as US President

Mr Trump has demanded that NATO allies stump up 5 per cent of GDP on defence and warned America will no longer shoulder responsibility for Europe’s security.

The new US administration has also warned that European nations must provide the ‘overwhelming’ share of funding for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion.

Prior to July’s general election, Sir Keir Starmer pledged to boost the military budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP but has refused to put a timeline on when this will be met.

The previous Conservative government, led by Rishi Sunak, promised to reach 2.5 per cent by 2030, which was to be funded by cutting the size of the civil service.

But new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, in a letter to the PM this weekend, has warned the security threat to Europe has ‘worsened’ since her party outlined those plans.

She demanded Sir Keir adopt her party’s previous proposal to reach 2.5 per cent by 2030 as a ‘bare minimum’, adding that he would also ‘need to go further and faster’.

Mr Cartlidge today outlined Mrs Badenoch’s demand for the PM to boost defence spending by saving on foreign aid and welfare, and by axing his Chagos Islands deal.

Labour made a shock announcement last year that it is ceding sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius in a deal costing taxpayers billions of pounds.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, Mr Cartlidge acknowledged there were ‘benefits’ to the UK’s foreign aid budget.

But, calling for overseas spending to be trimmed, he said: ‘Many people see it as part of our security.

‘It’s there to help stabilise countries that if you didn’t invest in them might become more of a threat, ultimately, to our security. So it’s soft power to bring security.

‘But the problem is – and I think it’s pretty obvious – we’re going to have to invest much more in the hard power side of this.’

‘That means the military, and I think the aid budget has to come into that simply because the quantum of cash is going to be so big it has to come from somewhere.’

Asked whose benefits the Tories would cut as part of their plans to also squeeze the welfare budget to boost defence, he added: ‘We haven’t set the detail of that out.

‘I think we’re being open by saying to the country, we think these are areas we will have to look at.

‘We’ve said we’ll back the Government if they do. I just think there’s a key point here.

‘If you go right back to the Second World War, defence spending has been broadly decreasing ever since, obviously more sharply since the Cold War.

‘And in that time, welfare spending has gone up. In many ways, we spent the peace dividend on welfare.

‘We now have a situation where there’s been this very sharp increase in people on disability benefit – for anxiety, or whatever – people of working age.

‘I’m afraid that can’t go on as a country. We’re going to have to be more resilient.

‘So I think looking at welfare is not just about the savings, it’s about our country getting onto a pro-growth footing.’

In a report published last year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimated there were 4.2 million working-age people in Britain claiming a health-related benefit.

They added this could rise to 5.4 million – more than one in 10 – by 2028–29.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, in a letter to the PM this weekend, has warned the security threat to Europe has ‘worsened’ and demanded Labour boost defence spending

Pressed on his suggestion that there could be cuts to benefits for those with mental health issues, the defence secretary continued: ‘I’m not saying the exact policy here and now.

‘We will write our manifesto. I’m giving a sense of the fact that I think, as a country facing the threats that we do, we have got to be more resilient.

‘We’ve got to wise up to the fact that we cannot have a welfare budget that keeps ballooning whilst needing to increase spending on defence.

‘It’s quite clear and I know that’s a difficult thing to talk about, but we’re going to have to get real get real about this.’

A Cabinet minister earlier declined to say whether Sir Keir would confirm a timeline for the UK to hit the 2.5 per cent target when he meets Mr Trump this week.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told Sky News: ‘We will be setting out how we get there.

‘What I can also say is that through the Budget, the Chancellor delivered an extra £3billion worth of investment into defence spending.

‘We know we’ve got to increase defence spending. We know that as a nation, alongside our European allies, we have got to play a bigger role in defence.’

Ms Phillipson later told the BBC that Labour’s 2.5 per cent target was ‘ambitious’, saying: ‘We will get there, but it is ambitious.

‘And this is also in the context of the public finances which, let’s be honest, were left in a devastating state by the Conservatives.

‘A £22billion black hole, no credible plan for this nonsense that they claim around how they were going to reach 2.5 per cent.’

Speaking to Times Radio in a round of media interviews, the Education Secretary also suggested the UK ultimately needs to go further than the 2.5 per cent target.

Asked whether the figure was enough, she said: ‘No it’s not enough, we do need to go further, we recognise that.

‘We recognise we need to go further, as do our allies, both in reaching that 2.5 per cent commitment.

‘But making sure we do everything that is necessary to keep our country safe.’

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