Badenoch pledges defence boost funded by welfare cuts

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to fund a defence spending increase to 3% of GDP by 2030 through cuts to the welfare bill, including £10bn in savings. Badenoch's plans include £4bn from housing benefit reforms and £3.1bn from reimposing the two-child benefit cap for Universal Credit, which she says are fully costed. Labour's Tan Dhesi urged the Prime Minister to commit to a 3% defence spending pathway by 2030, while shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge criticised the government's lack of a funding plan.