Labour will cut day to day defence spending this year despite conflicts raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, Conservatives have warned. The Tories point to analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility showing a a real-terms cut of 0.7% in 2026-27. They say additional spending is going into “capital budgets, not the day-to-day running of the military” – meaning there is “no money to fund, for example, a larger army”.

The Conservatives have pledged to use cash from reintroducing the two child benefit cap to fund an expansion in troop numbers.

Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “It is utterly irresponsible that at a time of growing threats around the world, Labour are neglecting our nation’s defences. Not only are they refusing to set out how and when they will meet their commitments on defence spending, but we now know they are actually cutting back funding for running our armed forces. Labour are prioritising welfare handouts over national security. The Conservatives are the only party committed to delivering for our armed forces. We would scrap Labour’s welfare spending spree, and instead expand the size of our army to meet the challenges we face, as well as prioritising defence investments through our sovereign defence fund.”

However, a Labour spokesperson said: “The Tories are gaslighting the British public on defence. Look at their record – they slashed defence by £12billion in the first five years in office. They left the Army at the smallest size for two centuries, drove down morale and left Britain less safe. They did it before, and they’d do it again. With Labour, the UK armed forces are seeing the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, with a £5billion boost this year and a record £270billion investment in this Parliament. That means no return to the hollowed out, underfunded armed forces we saw under the Tories.”

In her Spring Conference speech in Harrogate, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch blasted Labour’s record on defence, saying: “Donald Trump has made it very clear that America is not going to continue to fund NATO’s defence of Europe. The world has changed and it is not going back. Britain must start spending 3% of GDP on defence. Every serious person in our military says this. Every serious country in the world is moving that way. But instead of prioritising defence spending, Labour have chosen to spend yet more money this country does not have on lifting the two-child benefit cap.”