While others
seek short-term political advantage to suit the flavour of the day, most
notably the leader of the Labour Party, who has evolved from ‘Captain
Hindsight’ to ‘Captain Flip Flop’, the Conservative Government is rightly getting
on and focusing on the long-term issues that are important for our country - a
vital one being defence.
Having grown
up during the Cold War and then seeing it end, I had hoped that the world would
become a more peaceful place, but sadly the opposite is now becoming true. Western
complacency has enabled other state actors who themselves have benefited from,
but do not themselves adhere to a rules-based international order, to become
increasingly powerful on the global stage, economically, diplomatically, and
militarily. Following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, many of our European
allies better realise that we achieve peace through strength, not through appeasement.
Ensuring NATO
remains the strongest military alliance on the planet is the cornerstone of our
future peace and security. Of NATO’s 31 members, only 7 met their 2% GDP spending
on defence commitment last year. In Europe, the only two large countries that
managed it were the UK and Poland.
The
Conservatives are maintaining our leading position in NATO by working to grow
defence spending to a higher target of 2.5% of GDP, which will help grow our
economy and ensure future security. Defence spending is now over £50 billion a
year for the first time ever, and I observe that many local and skilled jobs in
Crawley are dependent upon our strong defence industry.
Another
important alliance for us is AUKUS, which promotes a free, open, secure and
stable Indo-Pacific. The development of the UK’s hunter-killer AUKUS submarines
is being progressed, with contracts signed worth £4 billion that will support
thousands of highly skilled jobs. These are the largest and most powerful
attack submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy and will be the world’s most
advanced nuclear submarines. In an ever more volatile and contested world, I am
grateful we have a government who take decisive and long-term decisions to ensure
our future security.
No comments:
Post a Comment