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Ir Keir Starmer pledges to NATO that the UK will raise national security spending to 5% of GDP within 10 years, as its members try to persuade US President Donald Trump to stick to the alliance.
The pledge will increase core defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035, and an additional 1.5% increase to security-related infrastructures such as cybersecurity and border protection.
The British Prime Minister has already pledged to raise defence spending from the current 2.3% to 2.6% by 2027, and has ambition to increase it to 3% in the next Parliament.
But the new 3.5% pledge on core defense spending means that billions of pounds will eventually flow into the Army, Navy and Air Force as Britain tries to strengthen itself against Russian invasions and prove that it is pulling its weight on the US.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Latte is pushing a 5% figure, including 1.5% of adjacent security spending, to partially increase the number of headlines in Trump’s eyes, given his focus on low-level defence spending in Europe over recent decades.
While almost all NATO members agree on spending levels, Spain hit the unity of the group on Sunday trying to present a united front.
UK funding allows for many of the plans outlined in this month’s Strategic Defence Review. This recommended greater use of drones, autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence, along with new nuclear warheads, submarines and fighter jets.
Carl Emerson of the Institute of Fiscal Studies said the increase on today’s terms would be like adding around £300 billion to its 2027 goal of spending £75 billion on core defense.
However, the pledge raises questions about how the increase will be funded at a time when the UK is facing financial squeezes, and whether other public services will face cuts.
Prime Minister Rachel Reeves is expected to need to raise taxes to give her financial manager in the fall, and the government is already facing resistance against plans to cut UK welfare budgets.
British Prime Minister Kielstama: “This is an opportunity to deepen our commitment to NATO” © Simon Wohlfahrt/Bloomberg
Priority said that in order to provide safety to “workers,” the UK must “navigate this era of fundamental uncertainty with a clear sense of agility, speed and a clear sense of national interest.
“This is an opportunity to deepen our commitment to NATO and encourage greater investment in the country’s broader security and resilience,” Starmer added.
1.5% of non-core spending is billed by the government as “homeland security” and “resilience” investments, and is expected to cover citizen preparation, cyber threats, border and energy security, and other regions.
However, it was not immediately clear whether this would attract additional spending.
When adjacent spending is included, the government said UK security spending will reach 4.1% of GDP by 2027. This is expected to reach 2.6% of core defense spending.
This means that adjacent spending is close to 1.5% of GDP to reach that level within two years.
Downing Street said details of the spending plan will be laid out at the NATO summit on Wednesday and Thursday.
Secretary of Defense John Healy visiting to open a new BAE Systems Artillery Factory in Sheffield in June © Danny Lawson/PA
The UK has fulfilled the need to reduce its dependence on its allies as the Trump administration threatened to reduce its support for Europe.
“In a more transactional world, the report has determined that by building its own sovereignty in areas of strategic importance, it reduces its dependence on other countries,” the government said.
Ministers hope that additional spending will help boost the UK economy, calling the national security strategy a “call that encourages action necessary for our society as a whole to be more resilient.”
“We recognize that realizing that national security means more than before means that we reach the health of our economy, from our border security to supply chains to food prices, street safety to the online world.”
“In the face of this reality in a world of increasing threats in the ‘gray zone’, we cannot take a fragmentary approach to strengthening the security of some of our critical national infrastructure, but we leave gaps elsewhere for our enemies to exploit. ”
Additional Reports by Sam Fleming
