Kemi Badenoch has accused Andy Burnham of \u201cfiddling while Europe is at risk of burning\u201d, as she repeated her call for the prime minister to cut the welfare budget to fund increase spending on defence.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the Telegraph<\/a>, the Tory leader said that \u201cBurnham may be a people pleaser but difficult choices cannot be avoided through dither and delay\u201d.<\/p>\n She said the government had to \u201cfund our defence properly\u201d at a time when former military chiefs have raised questions about Britain\u2019s preparedness for war.<\/p>\n Badenoch said: \u201cOur government is fiddling while Europe is at risk of burning. In France and Poland, leaders are taking action now against the growing Russian threat. What is our government doing? Has anyone heard from Wes Streeting, the former head of the National Union of Students, who has rocked up as defence secretary?\u201d<\/p>\n Discourse on the \u201cwelfare v warfare<\/a>\u201d debate has grown louder in recent days since Burnham\u2019s comments during prime minister\u2019s questions on 9 September that national security could not \u201ccome at the expense of social security\u201d.<\/p>\n The Tory leader<\/a> said Burnham was sending a \u201cdangerous\u201d message that he would not cut welfare to fund the military, which was \u201cheard loud and clear in Moscow as well as Manchester\u201d.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cWe have to stop pretending that we are living in a carefree end of history when Russia is testing our resolve week after week. It\u2019s time to get serious.\u201d<\/p>\n The UK has promised to commit 3.5% of national income to defence by 2035, in line with a pledge by Nato members, but there is growing pressure<\/a> on the chancellor, John Healey, to outline how further increases will be achieved before next month\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n Adm Lord West, a former security minister under Gordon Brown, said Britain\u2019s military was in \u201cquite a parlous state\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIn many ways, one could argue we are already at war. We are certainly in the grey zone \u2013 whether it\u2019s cyber-attacks, drones getting near the edge of somewhere or threats to underwater cables,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n