Stuart Anderson MP Backs Conservatives Defence Plan
Stuart Anderson MP has been working with Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch MP and Shadow Defence Ministers on plans that will see the biggest expansion in troop numbers since the Second World War.
- Conservative Party Plans would boost defence spending by an extra £1.6 billion a year.
- This would enable the unprecedented recruitment of 20,000 new troops.
- Defence spending would be raised to 3 per cent of GDP by the end of this Parliament.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
“This Labour government has prioritised higher welfare spending while endlessly delaying their Defence Investment Plan. Meanwhile, I have been working with the Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch and her Shadow Defence Ministers on plans that would see the biggest expansion in troop numbers since the Second World War. The Conservative Party would raise defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by the end of this Parliament. We would also spend an extra £1.6 billion a year on defence, enabling the unprecedented recruitment of 20,000 new troops. This is on top of our plans for a £50 Sovereign Defence Fund. I am delighted that Kemi has taken this proactive approach, making difficult decisions in the national interest. I look forward to working with Kemi and her team to deliver on these plans that will secure our nation’s defences for the future.”
Army veteran Stuart Anderson MP has been working with the Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch MP and Shadow Defence Ministers on plans that would boost defence spending by an extra £1.6 billion a year. It follows further plans, unveiled by the Conservative Party in December 2025, to create a £50 Sovereign Defence Fund. This would mobilise £17 billion in public and up to £33 billion in private capital for defence.
The £1.6 billion investment would enable the recruitment of an unprecedented 20,000 new troops. This would include 6,000 new Regular Army soldiers and 14,000 new Army Reservists. This would grow size of the Regular Army to 80,000 and Army Reserves to 40,000. The extra investment would also fund the new accommodation and equipment that these troops need. This would be paid for by reinstating the two-child benefit cap, saving over £3.2 billion a year. Under the Conservative Party’s Golden Rule, half of the savings would be used to reduce the deficit. The remaining £1.6 billion would be allocated directly to defence spending.
In Parliament, Stuart has consistently urged the government to ensure that government expenditure on defence meets our needs. Britain's most senior military chief has also warned that the Ministry of Defence faces a shortfall of £28 billion over the next four years. However, Keir Starmer scrapped the previous Conservative government’s fully-funded plan to increase defence spending to £87 billion a year by 2030. Stuart has led calls for spending on defence to rise to 3.5% of GDP, with an additional 1.5% of GDP spent on defence-related spending. While the government accepted Stuart’s request, no timeline has yet been set. In addition, Labour has still not published its Defence Investment Plan, despite the commitment to complete it in Autumn 2025.
The Conservative Party has pledged to raise defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by the end of this Parliament. The Conservatives will also scrap Labour’s Chagos Surrender Deal, which will cost the UK £35 billion over the next 99 years. In June 2025, Stuart raised his concerns that the Mauritian Government is reportedly planning to use millions of pounds from the deal to pay off its national debt and scrap income tax for most of its own citizens. At the same time, the government had hit UK citizens with a £25 billion hike in employer’s National Insurance Contributions (NICs).
Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch MP said:
“This Prime Minister’s priorities are completely wrong. As we saw at the Spring Statement this week, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have a plan to raise benefits and no plan for how to properly fund our armed forces. With a war in Europe and now also in the Middle East, it’s more important than ever that the government gives our military the backing it needs. Instead, Keir Starmer is pandering to his backbenchers with more welfare giveaways - he simply doesn’t have the backbone to take tough decisions. I am clear the Conservatives will always put Britain’s national security first. That means prioritising defence over welfare and boosting our armed forces with 20,000 new troops.”
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge MP said:
“The world has changed and everyone knows we need to spend more on defence. But all other parties struggle to answer one question - where will they get the money to pay for it. Taking tough decisions requires real leadership and that is what Kemi is showing today. Cutting welfare to fund defence means we can commit to a bigger British Army of 80,000 Regulars and 40,000 Reservists. Britain needs an Army that is credible and deployable to tackle the threats we face today, and that’s what we would deliver, because of our willingness to make tough choices.”
