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On the plane from Warsaw to Berlin, Rishi Sunak was buoyant as he briefly chatted to the travelling pack.
Having delivered his hattrick of welfare reforms, the Rwanda bill and now the big lift in defence spending, he was a prime minister who clearly feels on the front foot after a torrid few months.
He looked like a man enjoying the job.
Politics live: Sunak warns Europe is at a ‘turning point’
Allies said the PM has spoken a lot about the spending decision with his current Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron, who has “form” in prioritising these decisions – having committed to defence funding back in 2010 when he was prime minister in the face of competing spending demands.
“The PM’s thought about this a lot, which is why it’s so detailed today,” said one government source.
The big decision he announced in this election year to increase defence spending to 2.5% by 2030 was a choice.
He could have committed funding to schools, the NHS or local government. But, for this prime minister, it was the right choice.
It might not be the most salient issue for voters at home, but in his speech today, he left his audience in little doubt about the risks we were facing with the rise of authoritarian regimes such as China, Russia and Iran, working together to undermine out democracies and way of life.
But equally, Mr Sunak made this commitment knowing all too well that it may not be him that has to deliver it.
And while the sum is really big – £75bn of spending over the next six years – for this year, the only commitment will be £500m for Ukraine, with the remainder of the funding coming in the next parliament.
On…
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