Free unlock edited abstracts
FT’s editor Roula Khalaf chose her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Sir Keir Starmer announced that UK spending on defense will rise to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and will rise to 3% in the long run.
The British Prime Minister told MPs on Tuesday that it would be “the biggest increase in sustained defence spending since the end of the Cold War”.
His intervention emerged as he was preparing to travel to Washington to talk to Donald Trump about Ukraine’s future and wider security in Europe. Trump calls on European countries to increase defense spending.
“We have to change the national security posture because generational challenges require intergenerational responses,” Starmer told the House of Commons. This will involve “extremely difficult and painful choices.”
He announced that this will be funded by reducing the UK’s aid budget from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% over the next two years.
Starmer also ambitiously increasing defense spending to 3% of GDP for the next parliamentary period “comply with economic and fiscal conditions”, which is expected to be around 2029 to 2033.
The Prime Minister has long faced a call for spelling when Labor meets its manifesto’s commitment to increase defense spending from its current 2.3% to 2.5%.
The U.S. president’s intention to ensure a quick ceasefire in the Ukrainian war and raised doubts about his appetite for continuing to provide a large amount of American military support to Europe has increased pressure in recent weeks.
The increase will be between £5 billion and £6 billion a year, equivalent to 10% of England’s core school budget.
British military chiefs privately pushed it further to 2.65% of GDP, which is £10 billion higher than the current budget per year.
Stamer said that if spending from UK intelligence agencies is included, defense spending will rise to 2.6% of GDP after 2027.
Earlier on Tuesday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called on the government to “repurpose” the aid budget to fund the increase in defense spending and said spending 2.5% at the end of the decade is “not enough yet.” ”.
In a speech by the London-based policy exchange think tank, she said she would support Starmer when “making tough decisions” to increase defence spending.
