Even if there are ‘no votes’ in defence, Cameron must beware of mutiny in his party

Tory MPs are becoming increasingly agitated about defence spending and whether or not Britain will maintain its defence spending at 2 per cent of GDP. They do understand the pressures that protected spending for other areas puts on budgets such as defence, but as I explain in the Times today, they are unhappy that certain people who should know better have been telling them that there are ‘no votes’ in defence.

‘No votes in defence’ is an old saying, but it’s still striking that Philip Hammond used it at all when briefing Conservative MPs on foreign affairs and defence. Some of them have pointed to YouGov’s finding last weekend that 49 per cent of voters think Britain should spend more on defence as a sign that he’s wrong, though of course the Foreign Secretary and former Defence Secretary is right that the military does not figure in the top three issues that people base their voting decision on.