ANDY Burnham has declared he would not slash Britain’s benefits bill to boost defence – insisting protecting the country cannot come at the expense of welfare.
The PM rejected Kemi Badenoch’s plan to pump an extra £10billion into the Armed Forces and hit three per cent of GDP on defence by 2030 by making sweeping savings elsewhere.
Her proposals include finding £4billion through housing benefit reforms and £3.1billion by restoring the two-child benefit cap.
But Mr Burnham claimed the housing benefit squeeze would cause levels of homelessness “we wouldn’t have seen before” and leave hundreds of thousands of children in temporary accommodation.
Speaking at PMQs, he said: “Yes, we do everything to support our national security but it can’t come at the expense of social security.
“Having strong national security also also depends upon having resilience in our communities.
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“This side of the House will not be forced to choose between the two, and we will set out a plan to get to 3.5 per cent by 2035 at the spending review.”
An incredulous Ms Badenoch yelled: “Unbelievable.”
She hit back: “We need to fund our defence, not spend all of our money on welfare.
“I cannot believe that he would actually say that.
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“He is clearly unwilling.”
She added: “The Prime Minister is talking about spending more on welfare.
“The benefits bill is set to rise by £32 billion on him.
” The benefits bill is set to rise by £32 billion. That’s not all of it. That’s the rise. That money could be going on defence.”
Mr Burnham insisted his commitment to defence was “absolute” and vowed to meet NATO’s target of spending 3.5 per cent of GDP on core defence by 2035.
But the detailed plan for getting there will not be unveiled until next year’s Spending Review.
The PM also insisted he will bring the welfare budget down instead of making “crude cuts to housing benefits”.
A Conservative spokesperson said: “Britain heard it loud and clear today: Andy Burnham will not cut welfare to fund the defence of our country.
“The Prime Minister is prioritising the ballooning benefits bill over our national security. Shameful.
“This is not leadership it is surrender. Worse still, it’s exactly what has come before. Burnham really is nothing more than Continuity Keir.”
The row is particularly awkward for Chancellor John Healey, who quit as Sir Keir Starmer’s Defence Secretary in June after demanding Britain hit three per cent on defence by 2030.
But Mr Healey returned to the Cabinet as Chancellor under Mr Burnham in July – putting him in charge of the purse strings he previously blamed for blocking the defence boost.
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The Government now says the route to three per cent and NATO’s 3.5 per cent target will be set out in next year’s Spending Review, piling pressure on Mr Healey to deliver the spending increase he resigned over.