John Baron MP for tougher sanctions and higher defence spending

MP: Democracy needs defending

Today in the House of Commons the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, gave a Statement following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In the Chamber, John asked,

“I welcome the Statement and commend the Prime Minister and Government for its robust approach, and hope he accepts from today’s exchanges the strong cross-party support for tougher sanctions now. Given the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the fact we have entered an era for the battle of democracy globally, will he accept that we need a substantial and sustained increase in defence spending well above the 2.4% level, because if there is going to be room for jaw-jaw then it is far more effective if supported by strong armed forces?”

The Prime Minister agreed, but argued that 2.4% on defence spending was sufficient for the moment and ahead of other European nations.

Afterwards, John said,

“After a period in which the march of democracy seemed inevitable, we now find ourselves once again having to defend the right of countries to decide their own destiny. What happens to Ukraine today may happen to Taiwan, or elsewhere, tomorrow. It is therefore imperative that the UK, and the Western world in general, arms itself with the tools necessary to defend these freedoms. Increasing the budgets allocated to defence and foreign affairs is an essential step.”