At Prime Minister's Questions, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch presses Andy Burnham on defence spending - and when the government will spend 3% of GDP on the military
The prime minister says 3.5% of GDP will be spent by 2035, with a date for when it will reach 3% to be announced in the spending review next year
Badenoch says with threats from Argentina over the Falklands Islands, and from Russia in the North Sea, budgets should increase now
Burnham says: "We do everything to support our national security, but it can't come at the expense of social security"
Badenoch replies: "It's unbelievable that the prime minister would say that... we need to fund our defence, not spend all of our money on welfare"
There is a clear dividing line between Burnham and Badenoch on spending priorities, writes political editor Chris Mason
During today's PMQs session, Prime Minister Andy Burnham faced questions over why he had picked John Healey as his chancellor.
Burnham insisted Healey had been selected because of his commitment to defence spending - take a look below.
Burnham defends appointment of chancellor
Vicki Young
Politics Live presenter
Speaking on Politics Live after PMQs, Laura Trott – the shadow education secretary – echoed Kemi Badenoch’s call on the government to cut welfare spending to boost investment in defence.
She told me: “We believe we should cut a ballooning welfare bill in order to fund our defence priorities. This should be done at the Budget – the threats are real, we’re facing them now. This is not something that should be punted off to a spending review.”
The Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy insisted the Labour government isn’t waiting to increase spending on defence.
She says that “we said we would reach 2.5% of GDP in our manifesto – we’ve surpassed that already several years early. I don’t think we’ve been complacent about it.”
Rachel Flynn
Live reporter
Image source, House of CommonsTory leader Kemi Badenoch chose the government's defence spending as her main line of attack during this week's Prime Minister's Questions.
She began by questioning whether Burnham will fund defence spending at 3% of GDP.
The PM replied that the government will spend 3.5% of its GDP by 2035, and a date for its 3% defence funding will be announced in the spending review.
He said strong national security cannot come at the expense of social security, which Badenoch called "unbelievable". She said he could fund defence by approving the Rosebank oil field off Shetland.
Burnham said the "Labour way" to get the welfare budget down is to save billions from housing benefits from building more council houses, and help more young people get into work.
Harry Farley
Reporting from the Commons
Image source, House of CommonsAndy Burnham used Kemi Badenoch’s final question about leadership as an opportunity to set out a glimpse of his foreign policy vision.
We have not heard much about how the prime minister sees Britain’s role on the global stage.
The question was not about the Middle East and the government’s sanctions on Israeli settlements. But the prime minister wants to boast of that decision and highlight what it says about his international outlook.
"In this difficult and dangerous world, Britain has to stand for something,” he told MPs, echoing words he used in a piece for the Guardian overnight.
"We will always stand with the underdog,” he added.
His response received the largest cheers of the session so far from Labour MPs; a sign of how popular the sanctions are among most in Burnham’s party.
The PM is still taking questions from MPs from across the House as his second prime minister's questions continues.
We'll bring you a recap shortly of all of all the key points we've heard.
Image source, House of CommonsThe SNP's Dave Doogan asks about the upcoming increase in energy bills for households across the UK ahead of the rise in the Ofgem's price cap.
Doogan says he "quite likes" the new prime minister, but asks him what he is going to do to help people with rising costs as "popularity will not pay the bills".
Burnham answers that he will be removing VAT from electricity bills, saying "it is not going to solve everything" but will take some pressure off.
He adds that Doogan should look out for further measures to come, mentioning the £2 bus fare cap, while acknowledging that does only apply in England.
"Can I thank him for his fake praise and say it will get him everywhere," Burnham jokes in conclusion, to laugher from MPs.
For context: Energy prices for millions of households will rise to the highest level for three years on 1 October.
Davey says the best legacy of the last Conservative PM Rishi Sunak is the UK's "world-leading" AI institute. But today, the FT newspaper is reporting tech firm Anthropic did not submit its latest model for testing, apparently due to pressure from the Trump administration.
He asks if the PM thinks it's acceptable for the US president to undermine efforts to keep the world safe from dangerous AI.
Burnham says he has appointed a minister for AI in cabinet and boosted the conversation of AI in government. He says it is open to MPs on all sides to be part of the discussion.
Image source, House of CommonsLiberal Democrat leader Ed Davey says he welcomes the government sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, before turning to ask about maternity care.
He asks whether the prime minister agrees that work needs to be faster on opening a new maternity unit after failings at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, and if he will make fixing maternity care across the UK a top priority.
Burnham calls this a "fair question" and says conditions at Musgrove Park point to a systemic challenge across the country.
Next week, he continues, the health secretary will chair a meeting of the maternity taskforce and will make sure all of the issues raised are looked at in detail.
Chris Mason
Political editor, reporting from the Commons
Image source, House of CommonsA clear dividing line was illustrated in the exchanges between Andy Burnham and Kemi Badenoch on spending priorities — and in particular defence spending and spending on benefits.
Burnham’s reference to the importance of what he called "social security" will likely be seized upon by some of his critics — his reference to it prompting Badenoch to brand him "unbelievable".
The prime minister argues that there is a "Labour way to get the welfare bill down" — including improving education — and that that is the "right way to fund defence".
But Badenoch’s reply that the government "doesn’t know" how it will pay for increased defence spending will be a strand of argument we will likely hear repeatedly this autumn.
Badenoch questions Burnham on defence spending target
Kate Whannel
Reporting from the Commons
Image source, House of CommonsChancellor John Healey was seen standing at the end of the chamber rather than sat on the front bench
John Healey is featuring heavily so far in today’s PMQs. He is in the chamber but not sitting on the front bench.
Instead he is watching on from his favoured position - standing at the end of the chamber.
He watches on impassively as Badenoch and Burnham argue over what will be one of his biggest headaches ahead of the Budget and next year’s spending review.
Image source, House of CommonsBadenoch says the PM keeps speaking about the Labour record as if it was fantastic but "what we have at the moment is just vibes".
She says other countries are making claims to our sovereign territory, and calls him "continuity Keir" on issues that really matter.
Burnham points out that Badenoch mentioned leadership and that Britain is showing leadership.
He says that PMs on both sides of the chamber have been talking about a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine for decades.
He says leadership is about taking action.
"Britain has to stand for something. Britain has to show leadership. Britain has to stand for fairness against injustice," he says.
Burnham says Britain will always stand with the underdog and that is leadership on the world stage.
Still on the Chagos Islands, Badenoch says the government is looking to pay £35bn to "give away British territory" while it "cancels £30m of vital training for British soldiers".
She ask Burnham why he'd rather send money to Mauritius than spend it on "training our troops".
Burnham says Badenoch is not "on strong ground" on this subject, saying defence spending was 2.5% of GDP when Labour last left office, falling to 2.3% when the Conservatives last left.
He says his government will be one that is "strong of the defence of this country" and that it has a "fully funded plan".
Burnham adds it will be "better to work across the floor of this house" to get a fully funded path to 3.5% by 2035 and says he invites Badenoch to "work with us on that".
Image source, House of CommonsBadenoch says the truth is that Burnham doesn't know where he's going to find the money from for defence: "He's talking about anything except defence."
But, she says, Burnham is funding Keir Starmer's £35bn "surrender" of the Chagos Islands, which contains US and UK military bases.
She says this was a "weak decision" and stresses the UK needs to project strength as Argentina threatens the Falklands.
She asks why, then, Burnham is planning to surrender the Chagos Islands.
Burnham replies that Badenoch "has to do better than that" and insists the UK will not surrender its base at Diego Garcia.
He adds that the UK will respect the rights of Falkland Islanders to choose to be British.
Kemi Badenoch calls Burnham's stance on defence funding "unbelievable".
The Tory leader says Chris Rokos, the UK's third biggest taxpayer, has announced he is leaving the UK - which she says will lose the country an estimated £330 million in tax.
She says his taxes could be spent on defence, but instead the "benefits bill is set to rise".
Badenoch adds that the PM could also use money from the Rosebank oil field, which the government has not yet approved, as money for defence.
The PM says Badenoch would make "crude cuts to housing benefits" to house defence. Instead, the "Labour way" has set out plans for more social housing, which he says will save billions from housing benefit.
Burnham adds that Labour will address a lack of young people in work "to get the welfare bill down".
"That is the way to fund defence," he adds.
Badenoch says that the 2035 target is a decade away and asks why we should believe Burnham will raise defence spending by then.
She says that there are threats now from Argentina over the Falklands Islands and from Russia in the North Sea.
The Conservative leader asks if Burnham is unable or just unwilling to get spending up to 3% by 2030.
Burnham says the chancellor's commitment to defence is "absolute" and that the government is taking a strong stance on Ukraine and and playing its role around the world.
He says he does not think taking £4bn out of housing benefit is going to get the right consensus and would create unheard of levels of homelessness.
He adds that strong national security also depends upon having resilience in our communities and cannot come at the expense of social security.
I won't choose between the two, he says.
Burnham defends appointment of chancellor
Burnham says he appointed Healey because of his strong commitment to defence.
"We will honour our Nato commitments," says Burnham, which he says includes 3.5% of GDP spent on defence by 2035, with a date for 3% being announced in the spending review.
He says Badenoch does not have the right to have the "moral high ground" when defence spending was 2.3% of GDP under the Conservatives.
He says on this issue "we should do more problem solving than points scoring".
For her first question, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch says after last week's session, questions remain over whether Burnham will fund defence spending at 3% of GDP.
Serious threats to national security cannot wait, she continues, and asks whether the PM thinks Chancellor John Healey was right to quit as defence secretary under his predecessor Keir Starmer because he wouldn't meet commitments on defence spending.
Badenoch questions Burnham on defence spending target
Prime Minister Andy Burnham begins PMQs by commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
He also sends sympathies to those gathering for the funeral of PC Matthew Blades, one of the two police officers killed in a wrong-way crash on 22 August.
Kate Whannel
Reporting from the Commons
In case you’re wondering why MPs are wearing heads of wheat on their lapels today - it’s to mark Back British Farming day.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham is ready to take questions from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and MPs.
As Burnham takes his spot at the dispatch box, watch live at the top of the page and we'll bring you all the key developments here.
Image source, House of Commons