MP: Long-term funding for hard and soft power required
Yesterday in the House of Commons the Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, gave a Statement on the update to the Integrated Review, which sets out the framework for Britain’s international engagement in the coming years. The review was started by the previous Prime Minister, Rt Hon Liz Truss MP, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
John asked,
“Many aspects of this Statement are welcome, including increases in our hard power and soft power capabilities, but does the Foreign Secretary accept that one-off increases are ad hoc, sporadic and make long-term planning difficult? What is required is a fundamental, threat-based review backed by long-term funding. To properly defend ourselves requires long lead-in times across many aspects of our defence.”
The Foreign Secretary replied that John was right, and that the Government is moving towards spending 2.5% of GDP on defence.
John said afterwards,
“This update to the Integrated Review is welcome, including its recognition of our soft power. It is good news the Government continues to value the British Council, and the continuation of funding for the BBC World Service will help ensure impartial and accurate news reaches the four corners of the world.”
“However, the Government must recognise that defence spending must increase. The war in Ukraine reminds us that modern capabilities and recruitment can not be surged quickly, not least because modern weapons systems take a long time to manufacture. The time to get ahead is now, and I hope the Chancellor will have some good news for us tomorrow.”
