Yvette Cooper in open rebellion against Starmer as she demands hike to defence spending
Yvette Cooper is in 'open rebellion' against her own Government after demanding defence spending be hiked, just days before the delayed Defence Investment Plan
Keir Starmer's Foreign Secretary is in "open rebellion" against her own Government after she demanded defence spending be hiked. Speaking on the Russian Border with Poland, Yvette Cooper broke ranks with Sir Keir and warned that Britain had become too comfortable with the "post-Cold war peace dividend".
Her intervention piles yet more pressure onto Downing Street who are due to release the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan (Dip) in a matter of days. And her shocking broadside just weeks after the now former defence secretary John Healey quit cabinet and warned that the current funding plans left the United Kingdom less safe.
Mr Healey was followed out the door by the defence minister Al Carns, who echoed Mr Healey's criticism. Following Sir Keir throwing in the towel and announcing he would leave No10 on Monday, it also leaves wannabe PM Andy Burnham with questions to answer about his plans to keep the UK safe.
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Speaking to ITV News Ms Cooper agreed that the government had to go further and faster in getting Britain battle ready. "We do have to go further, we do have to invest more," she said, adding that the government had increased spending since the 2024 election but "we are going to have to go a lot further."
Conservative Party sources blasted that Ms Cooper was in "open rebellion" against her own boss, warning that "this further raises the question, how on earth are Labour going to release the Dip this week?"
They even raged that the Dip would "not be worth the paper it is written on" if Mr Burnham comes in "and rips the whole thing up". Mr Burnham has suggested he would back more funding on defence, yet has been coy as to how this would be paid for.
Ms Cooper told ITV: "We're going to have to get to 3%. We've made a longer term commitment to get to 3.5%. We are going to have to do that. We are going to have to increase our defence spending. So of course, all of this is going to have to be continually reviewed, continually improved on."
She added: "We are going to have to do that. I don't think we have any choice as a country. If we want to be strong and resilient in the face of these whirlwinds and storms around the world, we are going to have to do more on our securing our defence because that is the underpinning, that security is the underpinning on which everything else we do really depends. It's also what gives us our influence and helps us in the UK influence other countries to do things that are in our interest as well."
