Defence spending should not be a choice of welfare or warfare

British armed forces carrying out a parachute drop exercise at Copehill Down in Wiltshire earlier this year. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Getty

I was pleased to see your editorial challenging the rightwing narrative from George Robertson, who is demanding less welfare and more warfare (The Guardian view on defence spending: should the UK’s security rest with Donald Trump?, 14 April).

Why not extend the argument about the purpose of UK defence strategy to Nato more generally? The role of Nato is tied to the declining power of the US, as we can see when Donald Trump resents paying for it, but then expects support when he lashes out at other nations such as Iran.