Burnham has warned that national security should not be pursued in a way that undermines social security, amid debate over how the government intends to fund defence commitments while reducing welfare spending.
The intervention comes as the prime minister has said he will both fund defence and bring down the welfare bill, describing the approach as being done in “the Labour way”.
Burnham’s comments underline a tension between two stated priorities: increasing or maintaining defence funding on the one hand, and reducing the cost of welfare on the other. His position is that the case for national security should not be used to weaken support provided through the social security system.
No further details were provided in the supplied material about the scale of any proposed defence funding, the welfare savings being sought, or the specific measures under consideration.
The latest known position is that the prime minister has framed the government’s approach as one that can fund defence while lowering welfare costs, while Burnham has cautioned against allowing security priorities to come at the expense of social protection.
