Spending more on defence and less on aid does not mean walking away from our values and responsibilities – here’s why

Relatives of people injured during fighting fetch water at Akobo Teaching Hospital, Sudan, on 12 February, 2026. Breaking the cycle of conflict and poverty that grip countries such as Sudan is a priority. Photograph: Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images

In my lifetime, there has never been a period when the scale of global instability and insecurity – and the impact here in the UK – has been so great. Regional conflict is gripping the Middle East; the Iranian regime is trying to hold the global economy hostage in the strait of Hormuz; and a fresh humanitarian disaster is escalating in Lebanon – all coming alongside the crises in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere.

Britain’s fighter jets are in defensive operations in the Middle East; our carrier strike group has planned deployment to the North Atlantic and Arctic; and as our security services have warned, we are in a constant battle to protect our country, our people, and our economy from state threats and cyber-attacks.