Britain needs new 'stockpile' strategy to support Ukraine, says Labour

With Labour commanding a healthy lead over the governing Conservatives, its top team of policy chiefs, who 'shadow' their equivalents in government, have been setting out their plans if they win power at an election expected next year. John Healey is the latest shadow minister to make his pitch, saying Britain needs to step up its defence production and end cuts to its armed forces to not only support Ukraine but also to fulfil its commitments to the NATO military alliance.

Britain must set out a new strategy to boost military production and overhaul wasteful procurement to better support Ukraine and signal to Russia that "things will get worse", opposition Labour's defence policy chief will say on Tuesday. With Labour commanding a healthy lead over the governing Conservatives, its top team of policy chiefs, who 'shadow' their equivalents in government, have been setting out their plans if they win power at an election expected next year.

John Healey is the latest shadow minister to make his pitch, saying Britain needs to step up its defence production and end cuts to its armed forces to not only support Ukraine but also to fulfil its commitments to the NATO military alliance. "We need to shift parts of our defence industry and MoD (Ministry of Defence) procurement onto an urgent operational footing, both to support Ukraine for the long-term and to replenish UK stocks for any future conflict," he will tell the RUSI think tank according to excerpts of his speech.

"The next government will inherit the Ukraine conflict and Russia's wider aggression. With a general election, there may be a change to Labour but there will be no change to Britain's resolve in confronting Russia's threats, pursuing (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's crimes and standing with Ukraine." He will urge Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to adopt the new approach in an update to the country's Integrated Review of foreign and defence policy. It is expected to come out in March and gauge the challenges Britain sees from nations such as Russia and China.

First written in 2021, it has been overtaken by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and growing fears over China, becoming a focus for those who want to see more spending on defence and want London to take a stronger line on Beijing. Defence minister Ben Wallace told parliament late last month the country's armed forces had been "hollowed out and underfunded, later saying that defence should get "a growing proportion of spend" over the long-term.

Healey will call Wallace's words an "admission of failure over 13 years of Conservative government", saying a Labour government would review major projects during its first 100 days to make sure Britain meets it commitments.

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