The Prime Minister should resign if he cannot prove that the long-delayed defence investment plan will “protect our national security”, Kemi Badenoch has said.
The Conservative leader also offered to lend the votes of her MPs to Sir Keir Starmer, or another prime minister should he lose a leadership challenge, to pass welfare cuts through Parliament to pay for defence hikes.
Plans to increase defence spending over the long-term were thrown into disarray last week when John Healey resigned as defence secretary.
Mr Healey chose to leave the Government because the defence investment plan (Dip) fell short of what was asked for by defence chiefs.
After months of wrangling, the long-delayed plan laid out some £13.5 billion of spending, rather than the £28 billion over four years which officials said was needed to transform Britain’s armed forces into a future-proofed military.
Following the appointment of new Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis, there is not expected to be any more money for the Dip, with any changes likely to be over where funding is allocated rather than the amount of cash available.
Defending the Government in the Commons, defence minister Luke Pollard said it was “a good plan” but that he wants “more money in the defence budget”.
Speaking at a central London press conference on Monday, Conservative leader Mrs Badenoch said the plan should not now be rushed to address concerns publicly aired by Mr Healey and his colleagues who resigned from Government last week.
“There are three tests which must be met if the plan is to protect our national security,” Mrs Badenoch said.
The first test Mrs Badenoch laid out was funding: that Britain should raise defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030, and as a minimum provide the £28 billion over four years asked for by defence chiefs.
The Conservative leader’s second test was “readiness”, as she insisted that spending cannot be “backloaded” into the next Parliament.
Capability was her third test, with Mrs Badenoch telling the press conference that the Dip “should equip Britain with more lethal and operationally effective armed forces”.
She added: “If the Prime Minister is unable to provide the leadership within his Cabinet to deliver a defence investment plan that meets these three tests, he should resign now and make way for a leader who can.”
Later on Monday, Mr Pollard said Labour was ending the “hollowing out” of the armed forces that happened under the Conservatives, adding: “But of course, I want more money in the defence budget. It’s a case that we continue to make as the profile of defence spending increases.”
Mr Pollard defended the Government – and his place in it – in response to an urgent question from Mrs Badenoch in the House of Commons, in which she said Mr Healey did “the honourable thing” by resigning.
He told MPs: “It’s no secret that I worked in lockstep with the former defence secretary. He is a friend and mentor. I was his deputy and I’m still standing here because he asked me to stay, and because we need continuity in this complex and difficult operational environment.”
He added: “The disagreement in recent weeks was never about whether we should fund our forces, it’s about how fast we increase the spending for defence and on what capabilities, and that’s a serious argument to have.
“And I make no apology for pushing hard within the Government to win it, that is the job.”
Mr Pollard did not respond directly when pressed by Liberal Democrat defence spokesman James MacCleary on whether he too would resign if he “fails to secure at least that minimum allocation”.
Responding to MPs, he later added: “I have seen it, I’ve been involved with writing it. The plan itself is a good plan. The debate here is about the funding that goes into it.”
Elsewhere, Mrs Badenoch referenced the Government’s difficulties in passing reforms aimed at cutting the welfare bill last summer, which were scuppered by Labour MPs concerned about their impact on disabled people.
She told the press conference: “My party is going to work with any Labour leader in the national interest to cut the benefits bill to pay for defence.
“I have made an offer of working together repeatedly for well over a year since February 2025 because I could see what needed to be done.
“Some things are too important for party politics, but if the Prime Minister won’t accept my offer, I will make the same offer today to Andy Burnham.”
Mrs Badenoch wrote over the weekend to Sir Keir’s leadership rivals to urge them to go further than the Government had in raising defence spending.
But she warned on Monday that “changing leader won’t solve the problem of those backbenchers” who oppose the Government’s plans, adding: “That is why I am offering 115 Conservative votes in Parliament for welfare reforms, 116 if you count my name as well.”
The Conservative leader did however rule out one area of welfare spending which she would not seek to overhaul to meet Britain’s defence needs.
Asked whether she would scrap the state pension triple lock to fund defence, Mrs Badenoch replied: “The triple lock is not where the issue is.
“Our welfare bill… we have a welfare plan till 2031. We do not have a defence investment plan for next year.
“If we get people off welfare and into work, it is a double whammy. We’re not paying their benefits, and they are paying more tax and helping to grow the economy.”
She also told reporters she would not be “in favour of conscription”, when asked whether she would revive a 2024 Conservative manifesto policy to reintroduce national service.
Mrs Badenoch said: “If we don’t have a defence investment plan, if we don’t have the money, then how are we talking about asking young people to join the Army on a mandatory basis?”
Asked whether the Dip would now be published, a No 10 spokeswoman said: “It’s being finalised with the new Defence Secretary and it will be published in due course and that work is ongoing and continuing at pace.”
