John Healey: “The prime minister had been unable and the Treasury unwilling to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend…”

Fundamentally, what we need is a settlement in the Middle East.

Our social security system must always be there for those who can never work. But for everyone else, benefits should be a bridge to work, to wider participation, to a better life, not a trap that people can’t escape.

Britain has it harder now. We had 13 years of flatlining tory growth in living standards when Cameron’s austerity gutted our public services, when Johnson’s Brexit hammered our exports and Truss’s mini budget crashed our economy.

It is not progressive to allow a bigger and bigger benefits bill, and a system which offers an income but doesn't offer a future.