I wholeheartedly agree with you that the defence of the
realm, our overseas territories and our interests around the globe, is the
first priority of any government. As a leading global power, the UK has a
responsibility to sustain our armed forces so that they can carry out this
vital task.
I was re-elected in 2017 to represent the people of St
Austell and Newquay on a manifesto that binds the Government to not only meet
the NATO commitment to spend at least 2 per cent of GDP on defence, but also
increase the defence budget by at least 0.5 per cent above inflation in every
year of the 2017-19 Parliament.
We currently have the biggest annual defence budget in
Europe, the second largest in NATO, and the fifth largest in the world.
Between 2016 and 2026, the Ministry of Defence has been
allocated £178 billion to planned expenditure on equipment and support,
including £44 billion on submarines and trident missiles, £24.6 billion on
combat and support aircrafts, £19 billion on ships and £13.5 billion on
weapons. New equipment to cope with 21st century threats include nuclear
Dreadnought submarines to maintain continuous at sea patrols, digital armoured
vehicles, and two new aircraft carriers - the most powerful ships ever built in
Britain – with 5th generation F-35s to fly from them.
As your local MP I will continue to support the
Government on bills and measures in Parliament that will strengthen our armed
forces and defence capabilities, and speak up and vote against any proposals
aiming to achieve the opposite.
