Cliff Notes
- The UK is poised to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP in the next parliament, as stated by Defence Secretary John Healey, aligning with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s ambition.
- The government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR), set for publication soon, will assess military needs and outline spending plans amidst tight financial conditions.
- Current funding plans involve a rise from 2.3% to 2.5% by 2027, with controversial cuts to international aid budget, raising concerns about securing future financial commitments.
‘No doubt’ UK will spend 3% of GDP on defence in next parliament, defence secretary says
There is “no doubt” the UK “will spend 3% of our GDP on defence” in the next parliament, the defence secretary has said.
John Healey’s comments come ahead of the publication of the government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) on Monday.
This is an assessment of the state of the armed forces, the threats facing the UK, and the military transformation required to meet them.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously set out a “clear ambition” to raise defence spending to 3% in the next parliament “subject to economic and fiscal conditions”.
Mr Healey has now told The Times newspaper there is a “certain decade of rising defence spending” to come, adding that this commitment “allows us to plan for the long term. It allows us to deal with the pressures.”
A government source insisted the defence secretary was “expressing an opinion, which is that he has full confidence that the government will be able to deliver on its ambition”, rather than making a new commitment.
The UK currently spends 2.3% of GDP on defence, with Sir Keir announcing plans to increase that to 2.5% by 2027 in February.
This followed mounting pressure from the White House for European nations to do more to take on responsibility for their own security and the defence of Ukraine.
The 2.3% to 2.5% increase is being paid for by controversial cuts to the international aid budget, but there are big questions over where the funding for a 3% rise would be found, given the tight state of government finances.
While a commitment will help underpin the planning assumptions made in the SDR, there is of course no guarantee a Labour government would still be in power during the next parliament to have to fulfil that pledge.
Sources
UK to build up to 12 new attack submarines to ‘face down Russian aggression’ – ITVX
John Healey expects to spend 3% of GDP on UK defence by 2034 – BBC
UK defence plan sends ‘message to Moscow’ – Yahoo News UK