Britain has finally grasped the nettle on defence, but tough choices lie ahead
Summary
The UK has launched a new defence investment plan to address rising military threats and budget problems. The plan includes big spending on nuclear submarines but struggles to meet NATO’s defence spending targets, which could concern allies and the US.Key Facts
- The UK’s military budget will still be below NATO’s recommended level by the end of the decade.
- Increasing the defence budget means cutting funds from other government departments, since raising taxes or borrowing more is difficult.
- The defence plan responds to new threats like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and instability in the Middle East.
- Labour’s defence secretary, Dan Jarvis, said nearly all major defence projects are delayed or over budget.
- About 20% of the defence budget is spent on nuclear weapons, rising to 25% as new submarines are built.
- £47 billion is being spent on replacing old nuclear submarines that carry Trident missiles.
- The programme’s costs are hard for parliament to check because of security concerns.
- The UK aims to spend 2.7% of its GDP on defence by 2030, below the NATO target of 3.5%.
- Internal disagreements in the UK government have slowed progress on defence spending.
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