# ‘National security can’t come at the expense of social security’: Burnham’s staggering admission as Kemi says it confirms Labour is officially the Welfare Party

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/national-security-cant-come-at-the-expense-of-social-security-burnhams-staggering-admission-as-kemi-says-it-confirms-labour-is-officially-the-welfare-party/
- Published: 2026-09-10T01:02:25+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-10T01:16:59+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16118935/National-security-social-Burnhams-Kemi-Labour-Welfare-Party.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Americas, Art, Culture, Government, Politics, World

## Key points

- Burnham says welfare spending must not be sacrificed for defence
- Badenoch brands Labour the "Welfare Party" in response
- UK defence spending debate intensifies amid rising benefits bill

## Summary

Andy Burnham has sparked a political row after telling the Commons that national security "cannot come at the expense of social security", rejecting the idea that defence spending should be boosted by cutting welfare. The Prime Minister's remarks came in response to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who accused him of confirming that Labour has become the "Welfare Party" and argued that defending the country, not paying benefits, is government's first duty. The clash exposes a widening dividing line in British politics over how quickly defence spending should rise and how it should be funded, and appears to put Burnham at odds with his own Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting.

Badenoch had previously set out plans to raise defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by 2030 by finding £10billion, including £8billion in welfare cuts, largely from housing benefit reforms. Burnham declined to commit to the 3 per cent target — described by Chancellor John Healey as the minimum needed for safety — and dismissed the Tory approach as "crude" cuts, insisting reforms to housing and education could reduce the benefits bill over time instead. Critics including Tory MPs Helen Whately and Claire Coutinho, and Reform UK's Richard Tice, condemned the comments, while sickness and disability benefit spending is forecast to reach £109billion by 2030, and the UK has slipped to 13th in Nato's defence spending rankings.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.