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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced an increase in defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2030, calling it the “biggest boost to our national defense in a generation”.
The government currently spends just over 2 percent of GDP on defense, and previously said it would only increase spending to 2.5 percent if fiscal and economic conditions allow. The increase to 2.5 percent would make Britain the fifth biggest spender as a percentage of GDP in NATO.
Sunak traveled to Poland on Tuesday with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Defense Secretary Grant Shapps to announce that Britain will provide a further £500 million to Kiev, and increase overall defense spending.
He said the increase in defense spending would start today and rise steadily every year for the next six years until 2030.
“We will invest a further £75 billion in our defense and it will be fully funded, with no increase in borrowing or debt,” he said.
“So this is not a vague ambition for the future. We have a clear plan for what we will spend, when we will spend it and how we will pay for it. A plan that will make Britain by far the largest defense force in the world. Europe, and the second largest in NATO.”
The announcement also included an increase in defense R&D by at least 5 percent of the defense budget and more investment in autonomous drones. Sunak also said a new Defense Innovation Agency would be created so that “defense innovation decisions will be brought together into a single strategic agency that will be freed from red tape and work with the private sector on emerging new technologies”.
Sunak added that the government would ensure defense investments count towards environmental, social and governance assessments.
The Prime Minister said he wanted to reassure the public that “we are not on the brink of war nor are we looking for it,” but warned that “we have entered a period in history in which competition between conquered countries has profoundly intensified . an axis of authoritarian states with values different from ours.”
He specifically pointed to Russia, Iran, North Korea and China as “real risks to the security and prosperity of the United Kingdom”.
“The danger they pose is not new, but what is new is that these countries or their allies are causing more instability faster, in more places at the same time,” he said.
“And they are increasingly acting together, making common cause and trying to reshape the world order.”
Britain had already allocated £2.5 billion to Ukraine for this budget year, and the US House of Representatives has now also approved $61 billion in new US military aid to Ukraine, after multiple delays to the package.
With Britain’s additional funding coming from the Treasury’s reserves, officials say it will be used to provide ammunition, technology such as drones and technical support to Ukraine’s frontline.
On his way to Poland, Sunak also announced to reporters that General Gwyn Jenkins, deputy chief of the armed forces, will become Britain’s next national security adviser. It will be the first time that a senior military officer has held this position.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who spoke at the press conference alongside Sunak, said the announcement of an increase in defense spending “confirms the crucial role Britain plays in our alliance”.
He said that while this commitment would move NATO in the “right direction”, they now had to figure out how best to use it in defending Ukraine against Russia.
“This reminds us that security is not regional, security is global, and we must work with our like-minded partners around the world to maintain and protect transatlantic security,” he said.
Sunak is under significant pressure to announce an increase in defense spending, including from the Defense Secretary himself. A few weeks ago, some Tory MPs were concerned that the government was sidestepping the issue.
PoliticsHome had previously heard that Tory backbenchers are urging Number 10 to make security a dominant and recurring theme in the upcoming general election campaign.
Some Conservative MPs have already welcomed the increase in defense spending, with former Armed Forces Secretary James Heappey saying it was “hugely needed”.
However, some experts have expressed skepticism about whether the promise of higher defense spending can be delivered. Resolution Foundation Chief Executive Torsten Bell said he believed it would be “totally impossible” to implement post-election plans to cut daily spending on unprotected public services by 13 percent and shrink capital expenditure. while defense spending is also increased to 2.5 percent of GDP.
This is a lot easier to announce than to deliver. This pledge applies to 2030, when the MoD currently has no budget for 2025/26… and announcing it outside a budget event means considerations/how its funding will be completely ignored https://t.co/0JVHART6uI
— Torsten Bell (@TorstenBell) April 23, 2024
“This is a lot easier to announce than to deliver,” he said.
“This commitment extends to 2030, when the MoD currently has no budget for 2025/2026… and announcing it outside of a budget event means considerations/how to fund it are completely ignored.”
John Healey MP, Labour’s shadow defense secretary, said Labor wanted to see a fully funded plan to reach 2.5 per cent and said the Tories had “shown time and time again that they cannot be trusted on defence”.
“The British public will judge ministers by what they do, not what they say,” he said.
‘Since 2010, the Conservatives have wasted more than £15 billion mismanaging defense procurement, shrunk the military to its smallest size since Napoleon, missed their recruitment targets every year and allowed morale to fall to record lows.
“Labour will undertake a strategic defense and security review in the first year of government to get to grips with the threats we face, the state of our armed forces and the resources required.”
Sunak travels to Berlin on Wednesday to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
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