And Starmer promises to go further if he is reelected
United Kingdom Defense Expenses should increase to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, the Prime Minister announced. Keir Strmer describes that the increase as “an effort from the whole society” that “will reach the lives, industries and houses of the British people.”
The increase in expense is being financed, in part, by a cut in international aid and “represents the biggest sustained increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War,” according to the head of government himself.
Currently the British government spends 2.3% of its GDP in defense, which represents an increase of 0.2 percentage points by 2027, that is, before what was expected.
Strmer is also committed to setting a 3% goal in the next term if elected.
This increase, “in the short term, can only be financed through difficult choices and, in this case, this means that we will reduce our expense with the help of development, from the current 0.5% of gross national income [RNB] to 0.3% in 2027 “.
“We have to change our posture in national security because a unique challenge requires a unique response. This requires some extremely difficult and painful choices,” he said.
Stmerer has qualified this as “the biggest sustained increase in defense expense since the end of the Cold War,” necessary to maintain support for Ukraine in defense against Russia.
“We have to support Ukraine, because if we don’t get lasting peace, economic instability and threats to our security will only increase. And so, as the nature of this conflict changes, as has happened in recent weeks, our answer in recent weeks It becomes clearer, a new age we have to face, “he said.
As a member of NATO, the United Kingdom has committed to spend 2% of GDP on defense expenses and NATO’s latest estimates show that the United Kingdom spent 2.3% of GDP on defense in 2024.
The 2024 Labor Electoral Program has promised a climb to 2.5% of GDP in defense, but so far Stramer had not been committed to a specific deadline for its realization.
According to Stmerer, from 2027, the government expects to spend another £ 13.4 billion (16.2 billion euros) in defense every year.
From this year, information and security services will be included in the defense budget, increasing the expense to 2.6% of GDP.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch approved the measure and reduction in the foreign aid budget and repeated the suggestion made during the weekend to also cut the social security expense.
“Can the prime minister confidence that 2.5% by 2027 is sufficient? Because we have to see exactly how we will finance this. The Prime Minister should not further increase the taxes, as this will destroy the Our economy, “he warned.
This announcement comes just before Keir Strmer moving to the US to meet with Donald Trump. The US president has pressured Europeans to considerably increase the investment in defense.
