Ben Wallace
In an interview released on Saturday, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stated that he would step down in the next cabinet reshuffle and will not run in the next general election.
Ben Wallace, 53, has been an important player in Western partners’ backing for Ukraine against Russia, and he was chosen by the United Kingdom to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as NATO Secretary General.
However, he was unable to secure essential US support to follow him, and Jens Stoltenberg has now extended his term as NATO’s leader.
“I’m not running for election as a member of parliament the next time”, he added.
Last month, Ben Wallace informed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of his intention not to run for re-election in the general election, which must be held by the end of next year.
He stated that he will not retire as an MP prematurely and trigger a by-election, but that he will leave as defence secretary before the next cabinet reshuffle, which is due in September.
Ben Wallace, a straight-talking former British army officer, has been a member of the UK parliament for 18 years and is the Conservative Party’s longest-serving defence minister since Winston Churchill.
He was the only senior minister who stayed through the rocky transition from his political partner Boris Johnson to the brief-lived Liz Truss and finally Rishi Sunak.
He was Theresa May’s security minister before becoming defence secretary in 2019.
Ben Wallace has great popularity among the Tories’ grassroots membership and was frequently projected to be party leader, but he has never actively sought the position.
“It wasn’t for me”, he admitted.
Ben Wallace stated that one of his accomplishments was increasing the defence budget by $31 billion and that increased defence spending would be critical in the coming years.
He predicted that the globe would be much more unsafe, much more insecure by the end of the decade.
“I believe we will be involved in a conflict. Whether the conflict is cold or warm, I believe we will be in a difficult position”, he added.
He speculated that the UK could be drawn into a fight in Africa against Islamist organisations, and expressed concern about the impact of Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea on regional politics and nuclear proliferation.
In regards to Ukraine, he stated that if Russia loses, Putin may lash out and seek new targets, such as undersea cables transporting Western communications and energy supplies.
Also read: Putin Claims Russia Has Sufficient Stockpile Of Bombs That It Will Use If Necessary
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