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Sir Keir Starmer has said Britain needs to “move quickly” in increasing military spending, as he considers accelerating the timetable for committing 3 per cent of Britain’s GDP to defence, and considers how to raise the money for it.
The Prime Minister spoke after returning from the three-day Munich Security Conference, during which he expressed his ambition for Britain to join its allies in a multilateral defense initiative to finance and oversee joint rearmament.
People familiar with the matter said Starmer was considering the option of bringing forward a plan to spend 3 percent of GDP on defence, after the BBC reported he could set a deadline of the end of this parliament, but stressed that this was not the most likely outcome.
The prime minister has previously stated his “ambition” to spend 3 percent of GDP on defense during the next parliament, which is expected to run from 2029 to about 2034.
Britain and its NATO allies have also committed to a spending target of 5 percent of GDP by 2035, of which 3.5 percent of GDP is committed to “core” defense – armed forces and military equipment – and an additional 1.5 percent of GDP is spent on defense-related infrastructure and security.
The prime minister did not deny the reports when asked on Monday and said Europe “must take the lead in terms of defense and security”.
He added, “We are at risk of Russian aggression. In a few days we will have the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.”
“We want a just and lasting peace, but it won’t end the Russian threat, and we need to be mindful of that, because it’s going to affect every single person in this room, every single person in this country, so we need to step up.
“That means we need to move faster on defense spending.”
Britain’s defense spending will increase to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027, from about 2.3 percent when the Labor Party came to power in 2024.
In January, the chief of the defense staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, told MPs that without additional funding, the military would be unable to meet the recommendations of the government’s major strategic defense review, reported last year, without making cuts to existing programmes.
The government has not yet released its delayed Defense Investment Plan, which is due to set military spending plans for the next decade.
Starmer has not yet confirmed how any increases in defense spending will be financed. Officials have discussed a range of options, from launching new public-private partnerships to loosening fiscal rules to borrow more.
The prime minister’s official spokesman declined to comment Monday on “speculation” about bringing forward a plan to spend 3 percent of GDP by the end of this parliament, but highlighted Starmer’s intervention in Munich on Saturday.
“With the historic agreement to increase spending on security and defense by 5 per cent, we have also shown our collective intent in this regard,” the spokesperson said.
Tan Dhesi, the Labor chairman of the House of Commons defense committee, encouraged Starmer to commit to the earlier target.
“Given the growing threats and volatile situation on our continent, it is imperative that we chart a path to significantly boost investment in defense and security. We cannot afford to go into the next Parliament,” he said.
The Conservatives said Starmer’s “tough talk” on the need for higher military spending was in stark contrast to his lack of “concrete action”.
Tory shadow defense secretary James Cartlidge said, “Until Starmer publishes a long-awaited defense investment plan and shows he can stand up to his left-wing backbenchers, talk of 3 per cent defense spending is nothing more than a pipe dream.”
