David Cameron was facing a growing Tory mutiny over defence spending last night , amid claims the Foreign Secretary said there were ‘ no votes in defence. ’ Conservative MPs are plotting a major rebellion next week when the Commons debates calls for the UK to honour its commitment to spend at least two per cent of national income on defence . The Prime Minister lectured other Western leaders over the need to hit the target during last year ’ s Nato summit in Wales . Conservative MPs are plotting a rebellion against Prime Minister David Cameron next week when the Commons debate will call for the UK to honour its commitment to spend at least 2 % of its income on defence . But Mr Cameron has refused to guarantee that the spending pledge will continue after the election , and – to the anger of many MPs – Tory sources say it will not feature in the party ’ s manifesto . Instead , the Prime Minister has said only that a future Tory government would protect the defence equipment budget and maintain troop numbers . Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond was yesterday reported to have warned Tory MPs there are ‘ no votes in defence ’ . Aides to Mr Hammond , a former defence secretary , said they ‘ did not recognise the comments ’ , adding that the minister is a staunch supporter of defence spending . But former defence minister Sir Gerald Howarth said the reported comments were symptomatic of the view of the party leadership . Sir Gerald , MP for Aldershot , said : ‘ There is a view at the top of the government – I don ’ t think the Prime Minister shares it – that defence isn ’ t a vote winner . Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond ( pictured ) was reported to have warned Tory MPs there are ‘ no votes in defence ’ ‘ But what they have to understand is that defence is part of the DNA of the Conservative Party . And that ’ s true even in constituencies which don ’ t have a garrison . ‘ Conservative voters instinctively believe that defence of the realm is the first priority of government. ’ ‘ And if people around the country do not see that is the case they will ask themselves what is the Conservative Party for ? ’ ‘ We are following through a Lib Dem promise to spend 0.7 per cent on aid but we won ’ t commit to defence spending . People are asking is this the right order of priorities ? ’ Rory Stewart , chairman of the Commons defence committee said : ‘ The fundamental point is the world is unfortunately more dangerous now than it has been in the past 20 years at least . ‘ That means major powers like Britain have to spend more on defence. ’ Fellow Tory James Gray said it would be a major error for Britain to drop its guard at a time of increased Russian aggression and the growing threat from Islamic State . Mr Gray said : ‘ The people of the UK want to see strong defence of the realm , and they see the attacks carried out by ISIS and the Russian Bear bombers over Brighton and they realise the world is an extremely dangerous place . And they want the government to step up and hold to the promise they made at the Nato Summit. ’ Conservative MPs now plan to use a Commons debate next Thursday to force a vote on the issue . A senior Tory MP last night said there was a ‘ determination ’ to force a vote , despite pressure from Downing Street to avoid a damaging split in the run-up to the election . Although the vote will not be binding on Government policy , defeat would be embarrassing for the Tory leadership and increase the pressure on ministers to back the spending target . China is to boost its military budget by 10 per cent this year to £94billion , making it the world ’ s second-biggest spender on defence . Last year , it spent £85billion , compared with Britain ’ s £37.4billion – but that is still only around a third of what the US spends . Beijing is seeking to assert itself as a growing power and officials say the money is to modernise the People ’ s Liberation Army – the world ’ s largest standing military force . China 's growing force : Only the US spends more on defence . The US fears that China considerably understates its actual defence spending . Beijing has recently taken a more assertive stance on territorial disputes with Japan and other neighbours , leading to a rise in regional tensions . In response , Japan and India have increased their military budgets .
David Cameron is facing a growing Tory mutiny over defence pledge . Conservative MPs plotting major rebellion during Commons campaign . Debate will call for UK to honour commitment to spend at least 50 % of national income on defence - but Cameron has refused to honour pledge .