Prime Minister announces £15 billion investment in defence spending
Sir Keir Starmer says investment in the Armed Forces will drive job creation and technological advancements.
Last updated 2 hours ago
The UK's Armed Forces are set to receive a £15 billion funding boost aimed at enhancing military readiness and technological capabilities, as announced by the Prime Minister today.
Speaking in Berkshire at Malloy Aeronautics, Sir Keir Starmer detailed the ambitious Defence Investment Plan, which will see £298 billion injected into the UK's defence framework over the next four years.
The plan includes an additional £15 billion on top of last year's Spending Review, increasing annual defence funding from £54 billion to nearly £80 billion by 2029.
It means defence spending will rise to 2.7% of GDP, marking the highest proportion relative to GDP in 30 years and aligning with NATO's targets by 2035.
Sir Keir Starmer said the investment would create 60,000 new jobs within the UK defence industry by the close of the decade, contributing to the support of more than half a million defence-related jobs across the nation.
Where will the money go?
The Defence Investment Plan (Dip), part of the Strategic Defence Review, envisions the adaptation of the Armed Forces to modern warfare, with technology like drones and artificial intelligence, with £5 billion to be spent in this area alone.
Some of the highlights outlined in the Prime Minister's announcement include:
- Over £8 billion allocated to the Global Combat Air Programme for the development of next-generation stealth fighter jets in collaboration with Japan and Italy.
- £63 billion earmarked for enhancing the UK's nuclear deterrent and the development of Dreadnought and SSN-AUKUS submarines.
- £26 billion investment over the next decade for Project Royal Oak, which will upgrade major naval bases across the UK.
- Over £5 billion for a drone transformation initiative aimed at increasing the combat capabilities of various forces.
- Nearly £2 billion to integrate military operations through a new Digital Targeting Web, enhancing decision-making and target destruction speed.
How will it be paid for?
Rachel Reeves said defence funding would increase by £15 billion through “reprioritising spending” across Government.
Sir Keir set out where the trade-offs had been made, with the money found by raiding Whitehall capital budgets, as he acknowledged there were “no easy answers”.
He said if the Government had chosen to “slash funding to our public services in favour of defence” then “we would be fundamentally weaker as a nation, more fractured as a society, less able to defend ourselves when our enemies prey on social division”.
The Dip would not take resources away from day-to-day spending on frontline services such as health and education, he said.
He added: “Therefore, some capital projects, for example on roads and energy, which are important but not immediately vital, will no longer go ahead as planned.”
Threats to the UK
During his speech the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said conflicts in Ukraine and in the Middle East are not “remote” threats.
“We see the horrendous human toll of these conflicts, which cuts across our values of justice and sovereignty, and that simple British impulse that bullies and dictators cannot be allowed to push people around,” Sir Keir said as the defence investment plan was revealed.
“We also know that these threats are not remote. We see foreign states targeting our nation as well.
“Thugs hired by foreign powers conducting violence, vandalism, and arson on our streets.
“Disinformation aimed at sowing division and stoking disorder, spreading lies and undermining our democracy.
“Russian ships targeting the underwater cables that carry the data on which modern life depends.”
Criticism
This plan is out a year late following delays over a row on military spending, which saw the former defence secretary quit in protest.
John Healy had warned this plan would likely fall short of Britain's commitments to Nato and claiming he had only been offered £13.5 billion.
His successor Dan Jarvis appears to have wrung some extra money out of the Treasury and his Cabinet colleagues in order to reach the £15 billion figure, although defence experts still believe this is not enough.
Elsewhere critics say it's 'too little, too late'.