>> hello. good evening. it's me, jacob rees—mogg on state of the nafion jacob rees—mogg on state of the nation tonight. the prime minister has defied expectations and cut foreign aid to increase defence spending to 2.7% by 2027, a long overdue decision. meanwhile, the labour government's plan to reduce energy bills by net zero has failed as ofgem hikes the energy price cap, the average household will now increase see an increase of more than £100 a yeah increase of more than £100 a year. the former labour mp mike amesbury is set to receive his salary whilst he's in prison after assaulting a constituent. but should he be removed by parliamentary vote? plus, as the spiritual vacuum leads to christianity waning in the uk, are we to expect a revival of

the catholic church? that's what my final guest has argued. state of the nation starts now. i'll also be joined by my most pugnacious panel. the former editor of the sun, kelvin mackenzie, and the journalist and author michael craig. as even and author michael craig. as ever, let me know your views. it's a crucial part of the programme mailmogg@gbnews.com. but now it's your favourite time of the day. the news bulletin with sophia wenzler. >> chris billam—smith chris billam—smith. >> jacob. thank you. good evening. it'sjust >> jacob. thank you. good evening. it's just gone. 8:00 these are your headlines. sir keir starmer has blamed a dangerous new era for his decision to increase defence spending and cut foreign aid. earlier today, the prime minister announced a major plan to increase defence spending to 2.5% by 2027, calling it the biggest sustained increase since

the cold war. but to fund it, the cold war. but to fund it, the aid budget will be slashed from 0.5% to 0.3% of national income, sparking backlash from charities who warn of devastating consequences. addressing the nation from downing street, sir keir starmer warned putin's aggression does not stop in ukraine and said the defence and national security of britain must come first. meanwhile, the prime minister went on to attack nigel farage for fawning over putin as he faced questions from gb news political editor christopher hope on whether he was nigel farage in disguise after his spending boost mirrored that promised in reform uk's election manifesto. >> mr christopher hope, from gb news in july, reform uk, fought the election on a policy to increase defence spending to 2.5% of gdp by 2027 and 3% of gdp after 2030, funded by a £6 billion saving in the aid budget. are you nigel farage in disguise? >> nigel farage didn't even turn up to the debate in parliament

today. nigel farage is fawning over putin. that's not patriotism. that is not what working people need now. >> energy bills are set to rise again, with ofgem confirming a higher than expected increase of more than £100 a year from april. the 2.4% hike will push annual bills for a typical household to £1,849, affecting 22 million homes across england, scotland and wales. the regulator says rising wholesale costs are to blame and suggests customers consider fixing tariffs, but prices could fall again in july. standing charges are also going up for gas, and consumer groups warn the increase will hit struggling families the hardest. ukraine has agreed terms with the us on a minerals deal after washington dropped its toughest demands. that's according to the financial times newspaper. ukrainian officials hope it will improve relations with the trump administration and pave the way

for a long term us security commitment. it's understood kyiv is now ready to sign the agreement on jointly developing its mineral resources, including oil and gas, after the us dropped demands for a right to $500 billion in potential revenue from exploiting the resources. and the vatican says the pope is in a critical but stable condition for the fourth day running. the 88 year old has been at rome's gemelli hospital since the 14th of february, and is being treated for double pneumonia and chronic bronchitis. the pope's prognosis prognosis, it said, remains guarded. those are the latest dup news headlines. more in an houn >> for the very latest gb news. direct your smartphone. sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code, or go to

gbnews.com/advent. >> james matthewson. >> james matthewson. >> welcome back to state of the nation. cicero told us that the sinews of war are unlimited money. nervus belli pecuniam infinitum. last week on gb news, we suggested that overseas aid should be cut to fund a boost to defence spending. today, sir keir starmer has followed our advice. we're making policy on gb news. this is a remarkable step for a labour prime minister who for the first time, is moving against the internationalists in his party to put the domestic national interest first. russia is a threat. putin is dangerous. his invasion of ukraine was fundamentally wrong. and the one unforgivable act, if you believe in a world order legitimised by the nation state. if sovereign borders are not sacrosanct, there is and can be no peace. we have been asleep under the coalition. it was assumed, as it was after the first world war, that there would be no war for

ten years. this left us unprepared, and support for ukraine has left us understocked in terms of munitions. the defence budget has been consistently cut since the end of the cold war as we have grown fat on welfare. but even the money we have allocated to defence has been used wastefully on procurement schemes that never met budgets and produced unsatisfactory equipment. the reckoning, the great day of reckoning, the great day of reckoning is now upon us, as donald trump looks to an aggressive america first policy and we have to defend our own isles, the shibboleth of comfort has to go. the wasteful expenditure on overseas aid will be cut to under half the legal target of 0.7%. yet this is not enough. we are doing all by halves. we need a bigger economy and to get people back to work, the prime minister will need to cut the welfare budget and the net zero nonsense needs to end. two. we cannot make the argument we need if our energy cost is four times that of the united states and over ten times that

of russia, we will simply find we can't afford to make munitions. the luxuries of idle prosperity will have to go . prosperity will have to go. because, as vegeta's told us 1500 years ago, if you want peace, prepare for war. this is what we need to do now. and sir keir has made a modest start in encouraging but modest start. there is much further to go. as even there is much further to go. as ever, let me know your views via mailmogg@gbnews.com. well, i'm now joined by the executive director of the henry jackson society, alan mendoza. alan, thank you very much for joining us. this is a really important statement by sir keir starmer, and i think a welcome one, even from his political opponents. >> yes, i mean absolutely i think he's done the right thing. we all. >> knew defence spending would have to move . and he's moved up have to move. and he's moved up the timeline for doing so. and it's important to recognise that he is making the right choice here for britain. and he's made the right choice for the budget cut as well. he's gone. the obvious place to take this from is another foreign, as it were, outward facing budget. we're

going to put it into defence and move forward. the only thing i'd say, jacob, is it enough? and i'm struck by the fact that he said, we've got to head for 3% in the next parliament, but if you think you've got to head to 3% in the next parliament when the threats are already here, why not move quicker towards it? i think that's the only bit i would quibble with and say we should be moving to 3% on an escalator right now, as opposed to waiting to the next parliament. >> isn't this absolutely classic of the uk's defence policy actually going back hundreds of years, that we always wait and wait and wait, and then we get to a point when we get really worried and we throw the kitchen sink at it. that's exactly what happened with first and second world war. but actually it happenedin world war. but actually it happened in the napoleonic wars, too. >> yes, you might well say that we are we have not learned from our own history when it comes to these matters. but, you know, as has been said on other occasions, the important thing is that you get there in the end before it is too late. and i think that the key to it is

recognising we are now leading on this. we're leading within europe, for example, where many other countries are still in the 1%, as it were, and we should be able to extend that beyond and show our american allies as well, that we're serious about doing our bit for burden sharing. >> and how should we behave towards our american allies. i was very struck that the motion at the un security council that didn't apportion blame at the un security council that didn't apportion b