Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a plan to grow the defence budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030.
Delivering a speech alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Poland the Prime Minister said we are at a turning point in European security and urged allies to step up.
With the announcement UK defence spending will increase immediately and then rise steadily to reach £87 billion at the end the decade.
The Prime Minister has set out three areas of focus for our bolstered defence budget:
- Firing up the UK defence industrial base: Investing at least an additional £10 billion over the next decade on munitions production, delivering high-quality jobs and investment across the UK and ensuring we have rapid production capacity and stockpiles of next-generation munitions.
- Modernising our Armed Forces: Radically reforming defence procurement and creating a new Defence Innovation Agency to ensure the UK is at the cutting edge of modern warfare technology, with at least 5 per cent of the defence budget to be committed to research and development.
- Backing Ukraine’s defence: The Government will commit an additional £500 million this year for the ammunition, air defence and drones Ukraine needs; the largest-ever single delivery of military equipment to Ukraine’s frontlines and a cast-iron commitment to maintain existing levels of support to Ukraine for as long as it is needed.
Commenting, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Andrew Jones, said: “Defence is one the key responsibilities of a Government. In a world which is becoming more dangerous due to the actions of Putin and his allies it is right that we ensure our defence is up to scratch.
“We have one of the most effective militaries in the world and this boost in investment will make sure our military has what it needs to keep us safe. The Prime Minister’s announcement sends a clear message. The UK will continue to stand up for freedom and democracy both at home and abroad.”
The increase in funding will be funded by a previously-announced plan to reduce the size of the civil service, saving 2.9 billion pounds, and 1.6 billion pounds allocated to defence research and development from an existing increase in overall research and development funding.
In line with budgetary conventions, the Government has not set out how it would fund the changes after 2028/29 as that would take it beyond the horizon of official fiscal forecasts.
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