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Sir Keir Starmer is travelling to Washington this week armed with a plan to boost Britain’s defence spending, which he hopes will help the UK avoid any conflict with US president Donald Trump.
The prime minister is expected to outline plans for Britain to spend 2.5 per cent of its GDP on defence, up from 2.3 per cent currently.
It comes amid calls from Mr Trump for Nato countries to significantly bolster their armed forces as he seeks to negotiate an end to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Why is defence spending being increased?
Sir Keir has faced flak from the left of the Labour Party for prioritising a boost for Britain’s armed forces over spending on public services or tackling child poverty.
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Keir Starmer is expected to outline plans to hike Britain’s defence budget (PA)
But the rush to hike Britain’s defence budget to 2.5 per cent of its GDP comes amid talks to end the war in Ukraine and UK plans to act as a peacekeeper in the country to deter future Russian aggression.
Military chiefs have lashed out at the erosion of Britain’s armed forces over the past three decades, warning that the UK could not currently maintain a presence on the ground in Ukraine.
And Sir Keir hopes that the spending boost will help to rebuild the country’s military and curry favour with Mr Trump, who wants Europe to be less reliant on the US for support.
How much will it cost?
Economists at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) have said a hike to 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence spending would cost an additional £6 billion.
They added that a larger increase to 3 per cent, as defence chiefs have called for, would mean increasing the defence budget by £20 billion, almost half the sum raised by Rachel Reeves in her October Budget.
And, with Mr Trump piling pressure on Nato countries to spend 5 per cent of their GDP on defence, the IFS said meeting the demand would cost an eye-watering £80 billion of extra spending.
Can the UK afford it?
Ms Reeves has promised to not use borrowing to fund day to day spending, and has also ruled out another autumn-like tax-hiking Budget.
The pledges will severely limit the chancellor’s options in setting a pathway to the 2.5 per cent benchmark, and she has already hinted the boost could require spending cuts elsewhere.
Ms Reeves told ITV last week: “Recognising the priority of defence spending in the world that we live in today means that we will have to make difficult choices so that we can spend that money that is needed to keep our country safe.”
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Rachel Reeves has hinted at spending cuts elsewhere to fund defence (PA Wire)
And, hitting back at calls for Britain to go above and beyond the 2.5 per cent target, education secretary Bridget Phillipson stressed on Sunday that the existing goal was “ambitious”.
“We will get there, but it is ambitious, and this is also in the context of the public finances which, let’s be honest were left in a devastating state by the Conservatives,” she said.
What is the government saying on the increase?
The government has repeatedly stressed its commitment to reach the 2.5 per cent spending target, but has refused to set a timeline for the increase.
It is facing severe pressure, with Labour now the only major political party not to have called for the target to be met by 2030.
Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Ms Phillipson said the Conservatives “hollowed out” Britain’s armed forces and said the UK and its allies need to bolster their militaries.
And, pressed on whether the PM will set out his plans to Mr Trump this week, Ms Phillipson said she was “sure defence spending will be a feature of that conversation”.
Meanwhile, speaking to Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow, Sir Keir said the UK “has to do more for our defence and security”, adding that Mr Trump is right to call for Nato allies to boost their defence budgets. “I am clear that Britain will take a leading responsibility,” he added.
What have the Conservatives said?
Kemi Badenoch has branded Britain’s failure to spend more on defence as a weakness, saying it “only emboldens their threats to democracy and global stability”.
And the Tory leader has challenged Sir Keir to set out his pathway to increasing defence spending.
But on Sunday shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge admitted the Conservatives did not do enough on defence in government.
He blamed Labour for the Tories’ inheritance in 2010, but said he wished the Conservatives had spent more on the armed forces at the time.
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