Cut green spending to make UK ready for war, Tories say

The Conservatives have promised to cut funding for green energy projects to boost defence spending and ensure the country is ready for war.

Leader Kemi Badenoch said if her party won power it would reallocate £17bn to invest in the UK's military because "defence of the realm must be the first priority of any government".

Alongside investment from the private sector, the Tories said their proposals for a new Sovereign Defence Fund would mobilise up to £50bn.

Labour accused the Tories of "fantasy figures" and of leaving the armed forces "hollowed out and underfunded" when they were in government.

"Look at their record: their time in office starved our forces of funding, drove down morale and left Britain less safe. They did it before, and they'd do it again," a party spokesperson said.

"With Labour, the UK armed forces will see a record £270bn investment in this Parliament through our historic defence spending uplift."

The government has promised to increase defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027 and 3.5% by 2035.

However, the Tories are calling for the government to move faster and commit to 3% by the end of the decade.

The Conservatives say the fund would invest in UK defence start-ups and reduce reliance on hostile states in supply chains, while allowing the armed forces to obtain new technologies like drones.

Under the party's plans, £6bn would be reallocated from the government's research and development budget to the Ministry of Defence.

Meanwhile, the National Wealth Fund, which was launched by the government last year, would become the National Defence and Resilience Bank.

The fund was set up to invest in projects which support economic growth and the push for clean energy but in March its remit was expanded to also consider investments in sectors which support the UK's defence and security.

The Conservatives said £11bn from the fund allocated to "costly eco-projects" would be redistributed to defence, with the remainder used for national resilience like water and transport.

Badenoch said: "The next Conservative government will move funding from [Energy Secretary] Ed Miliband's vanity Net Zero projects and use it to back our military to accelerate their war readiness.

"We must ensure our armed forces are equipped and ready to defend our country."

The Conservative leader added: "In the face of growing threats we should be investing more in defence, yet all we see from this Labour government is heel dragging and vague promises."

A recent report by MPs warned the UK was "nowhere near" where it needs to be to defend itself and the country's allies at a time of growing threats.

The Commons Defence Committee said the UK was too reliant on the US and was not spending enough on its own security.

Earlier this week the head of the military said more people needed to be "ready to fight for their country", as the UK faces the risk of confrontation with Russia.

Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton also said the pace of private investment in the defence industry was "painfully slow" and more young people needed to take up careers in the sector.

Earlier this year the government launched UK Defence Innovation, an organisation with an annual budget of at least £400m, to invest in new technologies and boost jobs.

However, a defence investment plan, which had been expected in the autumn, has been delayed.