The first duty of government is defence. So why is it stuck in the treasury in-tray?

By Lt Col Stuart Crawford

What does all this defence spending wrangling actually mean to the ordinary man or woman in the street?

Most people are understandably more concerned about paying the bills, running a business, getting an NHS appointment or keeping food on the table than they are about defence procurement. Yet the arguments taking place behind closed doors in Whitehall right now could have a direct impact on Britain’s future security.

This week Chemring, one of Britain’s leading defence companies, warned that delays to the Government’s Defence Investment Plan are preventing key contracts from being awarded. The company, which manufactures military explosives and aircraft countermeasures, reported a healthy order book but made clear that uncertainty in government planning is holding up important defence work.

For most people, that sounds like an industry problem.

It isn’t.

It is a national security problem.

The Defence Investment Plan was supposed to follow the Strategic Defence Review and explain how the Government intended to fund and deliver the Review’s 62 recommendations. Ministers accepted every single recommendation. The plan was originally expected last October.

We are now in June and still waiting.

The latest promise was that it would finally appear on 1 June. That deadline has now slipped again, with publication pushed back until next month.

The obvious question is why.

The answer appears to lie in a familiar Whitehall battle between the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury.

The Treasury is understandably reluctant to hand over vast sums of taxpayers’ money without confidence that it will be spent effectively. The Ministry of Defence, unfortunately, has a long and troubled history of cost overruns, procurement failures and delayed programmes. There is little argument about that.

At the same time, depending on whose figures you believe, there is already a funding gap of around £280 billion sitting within the Ministry of Defence’s long-term equipment and capability ambitions over the next four years.

That is not a typo.

Two hundred and eighty billion pounds.

The Treasury wants evidence that additional funding will be spent wisely. The Ministry of Defence argues that without additional funding it cannot deliver the capabilities Britain requires.

The result is paralysis.

The impression from Westminster is that Sir Keir Starmer either cannot or will not force a resolution between the two departments. Instead, the argument drags on while the world becomes increasingly dangerous.

Meanwhile Britain’s defence manufacturers are left in limbo.

Companies cannot hire skilled workers, expand production lines or invest in new facilities based on political promises. They need signed contracts and clear long-term commitments. Without the Defence Investment Plan they are understandably reluctant to invest millions of pounds in capacity that may never be needed.

The danger is that when government finally decides what it wants, the industrial base required to deliver it may no longer be ready.

That should concern every taxpayer.

National defence is not some optional extra to be considered after everything else has been funded. It is the foundation upon which everything else rests.

Without security there can be no prosperity.

Without deterrence there can be no stability.

Without credible armed forces there can be no guarantee that Britain can protect its interests, its allies or its people.

Yet despite the increasingly unstable world around us, Britain continues to spend almost six times more on welfare than it does on defence.

Now, before the usual critics accuse me of wanting to abolish welfare, let me be clear. A civilised society should support those genuinely in need.

But government spending priorities tell us what governments truly value.

Russia continues its war against Ukraine. Iran’s proxies destabilise the Middle East. China expands its military reach and challenges Western interests around the globe. Cyber attacks are becoming more sophisticated and more frequent. The threats facing Britain are multiplying.

At precisely the moment when defence should be moving to the top of the political agenda, it appears trapped in an endless Treasury negotiation.

The ordinary person watching this unfold has every right to ask a simple question.

Shouldn’t the Government’s first responsibility be protecting the British people?

Before grand diplomatic initiatives.

Before international posturing.

Before political distractions.

Before the latest Westminster drama.

The primary duty of government has always been the security of the nation.

Everything else follows from that.

The British public understand this instinctively. They know that defence is like insurance. Nobody enjoys paying for it until the day they desperately need it.

The longer ministers delay difficult decisions, the more expensive those decisions ultimately become.

The Strategic Defence Review identified what Britain needs.

The Government accepted the recommendations.

The Defence Investment Plan was supposed to explain how they would be delivered.

The country is still waiting.

And so, increasingly, is the defence industry charged with helping to keep us safe.

In an uncertain world, hesitation is rarely a strategy.

It is usually an invitation.