The Conservatives’ Kemi Badenoch is Britain’s most trusted leader on defence with new polling laying bare the lack of confidence in Andy Burnham’s party. Sir Keir Starmer’s attempts to cling onto power were doomed when John Healey quit as Defence Secretary in protest at inadequate funding for the armed forces to deter the UK’s foes.

Fewer than three out of 10 (28%) of Britons trust Labour on defence, compared with 30% who have confidence in Reform UK and one in three (33%) who trusts the Conservatives on this crucial issue. Mrs Badenoch has the highest trust rating (32%), ahead of Nigel Farage (30%), Mr Burnham (29%) and Sir Keir (25%).

The findings will be a blow for the outgoing prime minister who has invested time and energy in trying to secure President Trump’s support for the NATO military alliance. When respondents to the Ipsos polling were asked to say which areas should be prioritised for public spending, 33% said defence and the armed forces – a 13 point increase on May.

Just under half of Britons (47%) think defence spending should increase “even if this means extra Government borrowing, higher taxes, or less money to spend on other public services” – a 10 point jump since last month. Overall, the share of the population saying they do not trust Labour very much or at all has increased from 48% in May 2024 to 60% this month.

Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge said: “These are dangerous times. We are now confronted by an axis of authoritarian states on an aggressive quest to tear down the international order British security depends on. Despite this, Labour are not prepared to finance our armed forces, the Defence Investment Plan is 10 months late, and the Government has no plan for hitting 3 per cent of GDP on defence this Parliament. Only the Conservatives have a plan to cut welfare to fund defence. We would restore the two-child benefit cap to grow the size of the army, establish a Sovereign Defence Fund to accelerate Britain’s war readiness and spend £400million of the money Labour had planned to waste on the Chagos surrender deal to speed up the building of new frigates.”

A Reform UK spokesperson added: “It no surprise considering the public backs Reform UK on defence after the shabby way our armed forces have been under both Labour and the Conservatives. We’ve been clear we will increase the UK’s defence spending to 2.5% of national GDP by year three of an administration, and to further boost it to 3% within six years. We will conduct an urgent pay review to significantly increase basic pay across the armed forces to improve recruitment and retention. What’s more we will never allow the prosecution of our brave veterans or serving personnel for actions taken in the line of duty.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “We are in a new era of threat, which demands a new era of defence. This Government is delivering a generational increase in defence spending – hitting 2.6% of GDP in 2027 and investing over £270billion across this Parliament ensuring no return to the hollowed out armed forces of the past. The Strategic Defence Review sets out our path to warfighting readiness – creating a new hybrid Navy with world-class submarines and cutting-edge warships, investing in air and missile defence, munitions, and increasing the size of the Army. The Defence Investment Plan will be crucial to ensuring our personnel have the kit and technology they require. As the Prime Minister has said, we will publish before the NATO summit next month.”