Big row potentially brewing on defence… Tories alleging that Healey - the man of principle who quit over DIP - might actually be *cutting* defence spending In the next two financial years, the budget for the MOD will be £1bn a year less than Rachel Reeves planned when the DIP was published in June. The total departmental spending can be calculated from the Budget Red Book pages 145-147. When compared to the DIP settlement, the Tories claim it shows that Labour are cutting £1bn a year from the MOD budget for the next two years. Why? It appears that they are forecast to spend less than expected on pensions. Rather than the MOD being allowed to reuse this Resource Department Expenditure Limit, the Treasury has kept it Cartlidge: “This is a complete dereliction of duty from the Chancellor”