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Defence Reform Bill

Indeed. My hon. Friend’s constituency experience is very important in this.

The money for the investment to deal with emerging threats and emerging skills has to come from somewhere. I make no secret of the fact that I would like to see increased spending on defence. However, it is wholly unrealistic to expect that when every extra pound going on defence has to be added to an already increasing national debt. The Government are bringing down not the national debt but the rate at which it is going up. We cannot expect to have increased spending on defence, so money has to come from within the defence budget. That means reducing both waste and people. I hate

saying that, but it is real life. I do not want any pause in the boosting of Reserves. I want the building up of both them and their proper resources.