Poll of the week: Should Rishi Sunak increase defense spending?

As the threat of war continues to rise around the world with Israel retaliating against Iran on Friday, senior Tories and leading defense ministers called on the government to increase military spending.

Grant Shapps, the defense secretary, called on the prime minister to increase defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP, up from 2.2 percent. Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, has also called for an increase in the UK's defense budget.

A Savanta poll for The Telegraph found that 59 per cent of people who supported the Tories in 2019 think the government should increase defense funding levels, even if it means reducing the scope for tax cuts.

So far More than 38,000 readers voted in the newspaper's poll, with 94 per cent supporting an increase in the UK's defense budget. Now you. Have your say below.

Most readers believe defense preparedness should be a national priority given the increased threat, and some suggest cuts elsewhere.

David Nichol, for example, argues: “We need more defense spending, and if taxes have to go up, then so be it. This will hurt less than failing to contain our enemies. I would rather finance this by cutting the number of civil servants and crazy spending by local councils.»

Reader Joseph McFarlandagrees and instead calls on the government to “stop wasting our money.” support for migrants, foreign aid and unworkable projects that benefit no one.»

WhereasJohn Bolwellargues that increased military spending benefits everyone and «is the first and foremost the only non-negotiable government.”

Steve Oldfieldsays: «The real Tories will get tax cuts and strengthen defense budgets — something they used to do by cutting wasteful public sector spending in other countries.»

However, a small percentage of readers still oppose the increase.

Ray SargentFor example, he says he «would be perfectly happy to cut defense spending if more, much more, was spent on prisons and properly defending our own borders.»

He continues: “Let's solve our own security problems before we try to control the rest of the world.”

Meanwhile, Simon Jones takes this view. that «if politicians cannot tell us where this 'military threat' comes from, then we should comply with NATO demands and nothing more.»

Others argue that increasing defense spending would make no sense. difference.

Simon Bell, for example, says: “Big money will eventually make defense contractors even richer and give us white elephants like Gordon Brown's pair of useless aircraft carriers.”< /p >

Sharing a similar view, reader James Peck believes that “they will simply be squandered on management consultants and overpriced weapons. The Ministry of Defense, like any other department of the civil service, is a money pit.”