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Rishi Sunak has promised billions more for defence to counter threats from “an axis of authoritarian states”.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The prime minister said UK military spending would rise to 2.5% of national income by 2030, in a move that hardens a previous spending pledge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He stressed the UK was “not on the brink of war” but claimed the extra money would put the country’s defence industry “on a war footing”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Labour is also committed to a 2.5% target, when economic conditions allow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Making the defence announcement during a visit to Poland, Mr Sunak said the UK was facing the most dangerous international environment since the days of the Cold War between the West and the former Soviet Union.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n- Ministers call for defence spending of 2.5% of GDP<\/li>\n
- Sunak to pledge \u00a3500m more to support Ukraine<\/li>\n
- How much do Nato members spend on defence?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The investment was required because the UK was facing an “axis of authoritarian states with different values to ours,” including Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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These countries, he argued, were showing a “new assertiveness” and were increasingly working together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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It represents a significant increase in UK defence spending, but it will not change the size of the UK armed forces or reverse cuts to the size of the army.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Expensive programmes<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Defence sources say it will enable the UK to build up its own stockpiles of ammunition, especially of artillery shells and missiles. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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One lesson from the war in Ukraine is that most Nato nations would run out very quickly if they were involved in a war. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The additional funding will also help resource Ministry of Defence programmes already under way – such as an order for new frigates, the development of a new fighter jet, and the modernisation of Britain’s nuclear weapons systems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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These programmes are proving to be very expensive and the MoD has been struggling to make ends meet on its existing resources. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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But there is also clearly a political dimension to this extra cash injection, ahead of a general election. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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There has been no clear distance between Labour and the Conservatives on defence spending, with both committed to 2.5% of GDP when the economy allows. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Now the Conservatives have set a specific date, but with no guarantee that they will still be in power. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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‘Reprioritisation’<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Downing Street says under its plan, spending would increase gradually over the next six years to reach \u00a387.1bn by 2030 – \u00a323bn more than this year’s budget.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Pressed on how it would be funded, Mr Sunak’s spokeswoman pointed reporters to a \u00a32.8bn saving by 2029 from plans to cut the number of civil servants, and a previously announced \u00a32bn rise in research spending.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A briefing document given to journalists alongside the plan said it would not lead to higher borrowing, but did not cite specific sources of extra revenue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ben Zaranko, an economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, said this implied the extra spending would come from cuts to departments with unprotected budgets. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Former defence secretary Ben Wallace also said he thought the extra money would come from a “re-prioritisation of the pie”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s PM programme, he said the prime minister had told him earlier he had decided defence spending would be a priority, ahead of “some other commitments we thought we may or may not do at the election”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey said the party “wants to see a fully funded plan” to reach this level, but he said the Tories had “shown time and time again that they cannot be trusted on defence”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He said Labour would review resources for the armed forces within a year of taking office, if it wins the general election later this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mr Sunak said his new 2.5% target could set a “new benchmark” for Nato, whose target for members to spend 2% of GDP on defence is now a decade old.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The UK spent 2.07% of GDP on defence last year, according to Nato data, but it estimates it will spend 2.3% this year, including resources given to Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n