Scrap green spending to make Britain ready for war, say Tories

The Conservative Party leader argues the country needs to change focus when it comes to spending, writes Christopher McKeon

- Christopher McKeon

KEMI Badenoch has vowed to scrap green spending to pay for a multibillion-pound fund to rearm the UK.

Accusing Labour of failing to invest in the UK's armed forces, the Conservative leader has proposed reallocating £17 billion to “accelerate” Britain’s “war readiness”.

She said: “We must ensure our armed forces are equipped and ready to defend our country, because defence of the realm must be the first priority of any government.”

The money includes £11 billion from the National Wealth Fund that is currently allocated to net zero projects, with the fund itself turned into a new National Defence and Resilience Bank.

Another £6 billion over three years would be taken from the Government’s research and development budget and given to the Ministry of Defence to invest in new technology.