Labour need to stop dithering on defence

Warfare is changing rapidly – at a rate perhaps never previously witnessed. And yet, the Government continues to dither and delay in a way that is now starting to impact in the real world, in key areas of UK defence industrial prowess, such as rotary-wing aircraft.

The charge sheet of growing concern about Labour’s defence decisionmaking being on hold begins with repeated delays to key strategy papers.

Ministers promised in the Commons 26 times that the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) would be published in the spring. It was published in the summer.

The Defence Industrial Strategy was promised for late spring, but in June we were told it would appear in the ‘coming months’. Let’s hope that means the autumn.

On the issue of Defence housing, so important in relation to retention of personnel – and the opportunity created by my decision to buy back the Defence estate, which needs to be seized in full – there is further delay. The Defence Housing Strategy was promised for ‘the summer’ and will now be published ‘in the autumn’.

And the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), said to contain all of the major capability announcements that we expected in the SDR, was originally scheduled for autumn, and is now slipping ‘towards the end of the year’.

But why does this matter? It matters because delay comes at a cost. A cost to our defence industry, a cost to British jobs and a cost to national security.

While we wait in Parliament for the Government to publish another defence document, our defence industry is left in a state of paralysis, unable to plan, investment on hold – Britain as a whole deprived of the growth-backing boost our industrial base needs, not least so that we replenish the munitions and equipment that we rightly gave to Ukraine.

And yet, the SDR was meant to provide the answers.

In fact, in response to Parliamentary Questions that I have tabled in the 12 months since the election, Labour defence ministers have said that the SDR would provide the answers on over 40 key defence capabilities.

To take one example, our crucial military rotary sector, supporting thousands of jobs around the country – especially in the South West of England. A written answer that I received in April was very clear: ‘all capability requirements, including New Medium Helicopter (NMH), are being considered as part of the Strategic Defence Review process.’ But the SDR said nothing about NMH, and weeks after the SDR’s publication, we are still waiting for a decision.

Even where the helicopters used by our armed forces are primarily manufactured abroad, such as Chinook, there is significant employment in support contracts – and, in terms of military priorities, these platforms remain absolutely core to the task of transporting our troops. But when asked by my colleague Danny Kruger, on the day of his SDR statement, what the Government’s plans were for Chinook numbers, Secretary of State John Healey ignored the question – precisely the type of question that was meant to have been answered by that very same SDR.

But it’s not just Rotary. As stated, on 40-odd capability areas I was told in written answers words to the effect that ‘the SDR will address this’. On the critical priority for the Army of procuring artillery, when I asked in April if the Government intended to procure 15 more Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), the answer came: ‘we are currently undertaking a Strategic Defence Review which is looking at the threats we face and the capabilities we need’. And yet we had not a word on procuring MLRS, or otherwise, in the actual document.

I sincerely hope that we will soon hear good news on crucial procurements such as NMH, though it is far from the only one where our defence sector had expected an answer by now – and if they don’t get one soon, will have to start considering their plans.

We should be firing up the British defence industry right now, so that we can rearm at pace and scale, not weakening it with delay upon delay. 

I don’t want to be writing about more delays to defence strategies; the national interest needs the Government to succeed in this space, given the generational step change in the threats we face. As Defence Procurement Minister, I announced a new procurement model last February and sincerely believe its approach could have been part of a tangible culture change at the MOD, where pace became paramount, not least by prioritising capabilities that can be introduced relatively quickly into service (e.g. drones).

But such an approach is hard to put in practice if delay is the order of the day. 

Let’s hope that Labour work hard over the summer and finally deliver a DIP early in the autumn, resolving the outstanding procurement questions. Our defence sector has been hit with a bill for £600m extra on Employers’ NICs this Parliament – they’ve had the downside of this Government; they now need to see the upside. Most importantly, our nation needs to rearm and that cannot wait any longer, given the threats we face.

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