Tories warn Britain’s armed forces are being 'starved of cash' as they accuse Labour of complacency on defence
Labour has been accused of “starving” the Armed Forces of cash after claims the Government bought only three new drones in its first year, as the Conservatives vowed to “always have the back” of Britain’s military.
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Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge warned that Britain’s military is being “starved of cash” and left unprepared for growing global dangers, using his party conference speech to accuse Labour of complacency over defence.
In a speech, Cartlidge mocked Labour’s promise to deliver “up to 12” new attack submarines by the 2040s as “fantasy fleet management,” arguing the Government had “no real extra money for defence” and was “hiding behind smoke and mirrors” to make spending appear larger than it is.
He claimed the Ministry of Defence had only purchased three new drones for the Armed Forces in its first financial year.
“With no real extra money for defence, procurement is effectively frozen,” he said. “Our brilliant British defence businesses have provided some of the very best drones and counter-drone technology used on the frontline by Ukraine, but almost none of this kit has been made available to our own army.
“In their first financial year, Labour confirmed to me they only bought three new drones for the British Armed Forces. Not 3,000 or even 300—just three. With all our experience supporting Ukraine, the UK could be leading the drone revolution. Instead, Labour’s penny pinching is starving our defence industry of cash and stifling our fighting capability.”
Read more: Zelenskyy demands tougher sanctions on UK firms after British-made parts found in Russian drones
Cartlidge, who served as a Defence Minister before taking on the shadow brief, used the speech to underline what he called the Conservatives’ “unshakeable commitment” to Britain’s military personnel.
He praised the Royal Navy’s submarine crews, citing HMS Vanguard’s record-breaking 204-day patrol earlier this year. “That’s nearly seven months away from their families to keep all of us safe,” he said, adding that the officers had told him the one thing they wanted from government was simple: “We just want to know the country’s got our back.”
He said that principle would underpin Conservative defence policy. “We will always have the back of all who serve our country,” he said. “That means focusing not just on serving personnel, but on their families too.”
Cartlidge highlighted his proposal for a new Armed Forces Housing Association to rebuild service family homes, arguing that recruitment and retention were now “existential challenges” for the UK military.
Turning to global security, he warned that “the era of the peace dividend” had ended when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and said Labour had failed to grasp the urgency of the new threat environment.
“The threat we face is now,” he said, “but Labour’s defence promises deliver, at best, in a decade.”
Citing recent attacks on Royal Navy ships by Houthi rebels, Russian spy vessels near critical infrastructure, and drone incursions into NATO airspace, Cartlidge said the UK must “stand strong with our allies and be prepared to take all necessary action to defend ourselves.”
He also ridiculed Labour’s record on military spending, claiming they were “redefining defence” to include projects such as “rural broadband” and “civil scientific research vessels.”
“Because if Labour get their way,” he said, “defence spending could even include… Boaty McBoatface.”
The Shadow Defence Secretary closed by condemning the Government’s £35 billion Chagos Islands deal, describing it as a “crazy decision” to “lease back British territory that we already own freehold” and pledging to scrap it in favour of spending the money on the Armed Forces.
“Opposing Labour’s Chagos deal does not make us traitors,” he said. “It makes us patriots.”
Cartlidge concluded with a defence of veterans who served in Northern Ireland, attacking the Government’s decision to reopen legacy investigations. “Our veterans defended us,” he said. “Now it’s our turn to defend them.”
In response, a Labour Party spokesperson dismissed the attack as “desperate deflection,” accusing the Conservatives of betraying service families and leaving veterans “in a legal Wild West.” They said:
“The Conservatives made false promises to our veterans and left them in a legal Wild West. Their failed ‘immunity’ scheme was rejected by the courts, in part because it would have given immunity to terrorists. It was never enacted, never deliverable and never existed.
"The Tories betrayed bereaved Armed Forces families by shutting down their last meaningful chance to find out what happened to their loved ones. Overnight, they ripped away the chance of closure for families of British personnel killed in the Troubles.
"Any incoming government would have had to fix this mess. We’re working closely with Troubles victims and families across the UK, and with our Armed Forces community, to put in place a fair system that ends the legal uncertainty for our veterans and delivers the answers people deserve.”