£11billion black hole through the middle of Healey's defence vow

Backlash over John Healey's Budget intensified yesterday following claims he was facing an £11billion 'black hole' in his defence spending plans. The Chancellor vowed to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030 – when ministers fear Russia could attack Europe – and to hit a Nato target of 3.5 per cent by 2035. But the former defence secretary refused to say how he would fulfil either promise until next year, fuelling accusations he was stalling for time and had no concrete plan.

The head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said Labour would need to find £11billion extra to hit the 2030 goal, while the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the 2035 ambition would cost £35billion. 'On defence, John Healey confirmed 2030 as a target date to get spending to 3 per cent of GDP, but I'm still no wiser as to how he plans to get there, let alone to 3.5 per cent by 2035,' said Helen Miller, the IFS's director.

The Government is currently spending around 2.6 per cent of GDP on defence and had previously committed to spending 2.7 per cent by 2030 before Mr Healey announced his uplift on Wednesday. Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey, holds up the traditional red ministerial box outside No 11 Downing Street before departing to the House of Commons to deliver the first budget under Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government on October 28 Pictured: Royal Marine Commandos line up to storm a compound during a live exercise demonstration at Bovington Camp in Dorset But in a further blow, Ms Miller said she was unsure about Labour's commitment to finding the spending increases. 'I'm also sceptical because I didn't hear John Healey starting the kind of pitch-rolling that you would expect if he intended to deliver these spending plans.

And I'm sceptical because history advises scepticism,' she added. 'When Chancellors pencil in tight spending plans in the future, they tend not to deliver.' Mr Healey was unrepentant over his maiden Budget, spending much of yesterday morning furiously defending it. 'I make absolutely no apologies. If we can take some steps that might help around the margins, we will do that,' Mr Healey told the BBC. But in an extraordinary broadside, Admiral Lord West, a Labour peer, accused the Chancellor of 'betraying' the Armed Forces by stalling on his spending plans. 'He has kicked this into the long grass and has let us down on defence,' the retired Royal Navy boss told the Daily Mail. 'Healey stabbed Sir Keir Starmer in the back and got a nice job [as Chancellor] and now he is quite happy not to push defence … it's outrageous.

It's a betrayal.' His intervention came just days after Wes Streeting, the Defence Secretary, warned the nation had 1,000 days to prepare for war. Mr Healey dramatically quit as defence secretary in June after Sir Keir tried to force him into accepting less cash for the military. In a blistering resignation letter, he accused the former prime minister of being 'unable' to stump up the money needed. He also suggested spending 3 per cent on defence was a 'must' and that failing to do so put the country at risk.

But James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, criticised the Chancellor, telling the Daily Mail: 'In the Budget he completely failed to deliver on his own red line – leaving himself a massive black hole in defence spending … this will surely be another broken promise from Labour at a time when the threats are only growing.' An IFS official warned punishing cuts would need to be made by the Government to achieve the Chancellor's spending ambition. 'The pain is going to come from somewhere – £11billion is a massive amount to make up,' they said.

Ms Miller added she was 'grumpy' over Mr Healey's plan to raid capital reserves to fund the £4.7billion hole in the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), left over by Starmer's government. 'Much of it came from further cuts to the capital budgets of other government departments... This is categorically not what the reserves are for,' she said. The Daily Mail is campaigning for significantly increased spending on our Armed Forces. During a debate on the Budget yesterday, Tory shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith accused Mr Healey of 'ducking' a decision on military spending which he said would make the country 'less secure'. 'Britain is walking along a fiscal cliff edge, and the Government has decided this is the moment to close their eyes,' Mr Griffith told MPs.

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