Conservatives pledge tax break for army reserves in plan to boost numbers
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said current reservists with a full-time job are "clobbered by the taxman".
The Conservatives are proposing a tax cut to UK military reserves in a bid to boost the number of part-time members.
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The Tories hope the pledge will help recruit a further 18,000 reserves to bump the number of part-time members up to 50,000.
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said current reservists who have full-time jobs are "clobbered by the taxman for giving up their evenings and weekends".
A Conservative government propose making the first 30 days of a reservist's service tax-free per financial year, saying the policy would be paid for by reinstating the two-child benefit cap.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard accused the Tories of leaving "recruitment and retention in crisis" after their decade long tenure in Number 10, and added that Labour are focusing on "rebuilding our military" by increasing the number of strategic reserves.
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Currently, the trained and untrained strength of the Army, RAF and maritime reserves sits at more than 32,000, according to government statistics from 1 January 2026.
The Tories also want to ensure more reservists complete their minimum training days, which typically take 19 or 27 days - which less than half of reserves currently do.
Any reservist who meets their minimum training commitment as well as passing their military training tests already receives a tax-free bonus payment on top of their pay.
Around 46% of reservists met this requirement in 2024/25, according to the government.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour was "dithering" after John Healey stepped down from his position as defence secretary due to concerns over funding for the defence investment plan.
Badenoch said: "We will give our reservists a tax cut, backing our military to keep our country safe and ensuring we can boost our reserve forces to 50,000.
“To fund our defence, Britain has to cut its welfare bill. That is why the Conservatives will restore the two-child benefit cap and use the money saved on defence.”
The two-child cap, which was introduced under the previous Tory government, was removed by Labour, who claimed the £3.2 billion price tag would lift 450,000 children out of poverty.
But the Conservatives say scrapping the plan is the way to ensure Britain recruits enough reserves to deter foreign aggression.
The Tories have costed the policy at around £44m in the first year, and said it would increase across the five-year parliament to a peak of around £152 million a year, should the 50,000 recruitment goal be met.
The majority of the cost would be attributed to paying more reservists, as well as pre-existing reservists serving on more days.
It comes after last year's Strategic Defence Review (SDR) outlined a shift towards "warfighting readiness" to deter threats, with billions pledged in extra spending for more ammunition, next-generation fast jets, drones, and new attack submarines.
It also anticipated it will "become necessary" to increase the UK's active reserve forces by "at least 20% when funding allows, most likely in the 2030s".