I used to work in defence in 2006 and as part of a team we sought to get increased Government funding because we recognised the future threat from Russia in particular but also an increasingly unstable world. I also worked on the Royal British Legion Military Covenant Campaign as part of Sir Gerald Howarth's team as shadow defence minister. I strongly believe in investing in defence manufacturing and looking after our Armed Forces.
David Cameron when PM chose to invest 0.6% GDP in international aid and I think aid can have a strong role in creating a safer world if it is spent in the right way. I have spent time working on aid projects and visiting other countries to see how our money is spent. Some of it is spent very well, some of it I would want to see spent differently. I do think, however, that defence spending should have been increased years ago. I am pleased that Rishi Sunak is the only leader who has committed to 2.5% GDP on defence and that we are also one of the only countries actually meeting the NATO spending requirements.
In my lifetime we have not lived in a more insecure moment with the threat of conflict hanging over us. Already we have Ukraine and Gaza and both of these events have had an impact on us. National security is the most important issue and we need to be scaling up our defence as fast as possible.
It is good that we are also investing in technology and innovation alongside the 2.5% direct spend on defence. Cyber security is very important and we are being hit on a constant basis through our everyday systems - banking and investment systems are at risk as are sites holding our personal data, our businesses. Also our everyday narratives are being affected - social media conversations turned into toxic arguments through the use of bots and false profiles.
This is serious and in many ways we are already experiencing soft wars. There is no more important role of Government than keeping its citizens safe and there are a few ways Government can do this:
1) Spend money on defence, 2.5% is great but I would like it to get to 3%. if the money can be focused on British defence manufacturers than it creates jobs and investment which comes back into the economy.
2) Deliver world leading diplomacy -find our allies and build those relationships and work to defuse heated situations with the more difficult nations
3) Utilise international aid to deliver values of democracy and tackle the problems that cause migration and human suffering.