Liam Fox plays his hits

The party faithful (and lobbyists) have their favourites. The conference hall rose in applause when Liam Fox sat down, having delivered his speech. This might have been a tricky engagement for Fox, who is overseeing substantial cuts to the defence budget, which might, conceivably, have angered activists. He has also been under pressure from Jim Murphy, who is described by some in government as the opposition’s ablest shadow minister. Fox, however, prevailed by giving a true blue speech aimed squarely at the audience in the hall. 

The gruelling strategic defence review was necessary, he said, because deficits threaten national security – a line he’s used before. But, thanks to his management, Britain would emerge from the age of austerity armed to the teeth. He then rattled off the array of new weaponry that would be at Britain’s disposal at the end of the decade. Trident would also be renewed, he said, which elicited sounds of approval from the audience.

He also touched on the military covenant, citing reductions to servicemen’s council tax and other similar measures as proof of the government’s commitment He also praised the military’s efforts and success in the tough theatres of Afghanistan and Libya. This was a short but important section of the speech, after Murphy’s virulent assault on the government’s record at last week’s Labour conference, the culmination of a year long campaign.

The most memorable passage of the speech was Fox’s evisceration of the proposed EU defence establishment. He said:

‘There are those in Europe who are calling for the EU to take a greater role in Europe’s security. Let me tell you, Europe already has a guarantor of its defence — it’s called NATO. It is nonsense to duplicate and divert from NATO at a time when resources are scarce across Europe. And the last thing we need is more EU bureaucracy.’ 

Fox then bombarded European countries that were endangering NATO by not pulling their weight. Britain, he said, was one of just 5 countries out 28 that meet the NATO requirement of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence. He said with a clear note of contempt:

‘You know, many of those calling for deeper EU defence integration are already failing to fulfil their commitments to NATO. My message to them is clear, you cannot expect to have the insurance policy but ask others to pay the premiums. NATO must maintain its primacy in European defence because NATO is the alliance that keeps the United States in Europe. This is not a luxury, it is a necessity.’

Fox has long been the darling of the right and he didn’t disappoint his admirers today.