James Cleverly has criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s approach to defence spending as an ‘act of vandalism’, accusing him of jeopardising national security by failing to commit to a higher defence budget.
Cleverly’s comments came during his leadership launch speech where he also outlined his primary goals if elected prime minister. He has committed to bring back the Rwanda scheme.
While revealing his intention to allocate 3 per cent of the UK’s GDP to defence spending, Cleverly accused Starmer of abandoning defence, as his government has a 2.5 per cent target. He argued that national security can’t be achieved by ‘penny-pinching’ and emphasised the need to prepare for potential threats by maintaining strong defences. He added: “We will send a signal to our enemies that the British are prepared. We will not leave the field.”
Cleverly stressed that only a unified Conservative Party could regain the public’s trust. Cleverly emphasised the need for party unity, saying, “We must unite if you want the British people to listen to us again, so when they are fed up, as they inevitably will be with Starmer’s inept, high-taxing, red tape-loving, big state, crony-filled government, they will look to us again to be the change that they want to see in this country.”
The 54-year-old also highlighted his achievements as home secretary, particularly in reducing migration. He claimed that his policies led to a significant drop in migration numbers, a decrease in asylum applications, a reduction in the processing backlog, and an increase in deportations.
Cleverly vowed to use his reputation to restore the controversial Rwanda scheme, a measure intended to deter illegal migration by sending asylum seekers to the African nation. He accused Labour of mishandling diplomatic relations by announcing the cancellation of the scheme to the media before notifying the Rwandan government.
After winning the election in July, Starmer said the Rwanda scheme ‘had the complete opposite effect’ claiming it had ‘gimmicks that don’t act as a deterrent’. The Labour manifesto pledged to curb small boats crossing the Channel by hiring investigators and using counter-terror powers to ‘smash’ criminal people smuggling gangs.
Cleverly’s vision to ‘restore’ trust in his party also included reinforcing the principles of capitalism. He argued that free markets are essential for economic growth and criticised the perception that high taxes and increased regulation benefit the public.
In line with his economic vision, Cleverly pledged to abolish stamp duty, reduce the welfare budget, and be transparent about the trade-offs involved in such decisions. He said: “We should enable self-reliance, family first, resilience and community solutions. Tax and subsidise cannot be our mantra anymore, so we must think and act like Conservatives again.”
Cleverly is one of six contenders in the race to succeed Rishi Sunak as the Conservative Party leader. Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick, Dame Priti Patel, Tom Tugendhat, and Mel Stride are also in the running. As the competition progresses, the list of candidates will be narrowed down to four by the end of the week.
