‘We got things wrong!’ Top Tory stresses party ‘changing our behaviour’ after lax defence spending

Marcus Donaldson
Wed, 08 Apr 2026 09:11:30 +0000

Sir James Cleverly has admitted the Conservative Party “got things wrong” in its defence spending policy while in Government.

Speaking to GB News, the Tory Shadow Housing Minister stressed they were “changing our behaviour” as he hit out at Labour’s own management of the nation’s armed forces.

“Kemi (Badenoch) has made it clear that when we got things wrong during our time in government, we will recognise that and we will make sure we do things differently.

“We recognise that we could and indeed should have perhaps spent more on defence,” Sir James said.

Comparing this stance to that of the Labour Government, he claimed: “The difference is we've recognised when we didn't do things right, and we're setting about changing our behaviour.

“Labour has been warned from day one that they need to give certainty over defence. They have chosen to increase the welfare budget rather than invest that money in defence,” the top Tory claimed.