MP also questions Defence Secretary in Statement
At Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, as chair of the 1922 Defence Committee, John asked,
“I welcome the Government’s firm commitment to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2030, which sends the right message to allies and potential adversaries alike, and which the 1922 Defence Committee has been supporting for some time. Would the Deputy Prime Minister ensure that some of this increase be spent on increasing recruitment into the Armed Forces, including raising wages as necessary, so that the Royal Navy can man its ships, the RAF can maintain its aircraft and the British Army can continue to dominate ground?”
The Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon Oliver Dowden MP, agreed, and said that John has been a stalwart campaigner for defence.
After Prime Minister’s Questions, there was a Statement from the Secretary of State for Defence, Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, when John asked,
“…the Secretary of State will know from Prime Minister’s Questions that the whole Conservative party welcomes this announcement, but may I suggest that the message from the Government would carry so much greater resonance globally if the official Opposition also signed up to it? I am a former member of the Armed Forces, so I can assure him that the country speaking as a whole – the official Opposition and the Government together – carries much greater weight internationally for the good of the country.”
John said afterwards,
“Our allies and adversaries alike have been taking note of our shrinking Armed Forces, and one of the best contributions to our defence would be to grow numbers. It is an embarrassment that the Royal Navy’s ships are being mothballed for lack of sailors, and it is not good sense to be shrinking the British Army as open warfare returns to Europe. I welcome the Deputy Prime Minister’s words and hope the Labour Party will at least match the Government’s commitment.”
