UK to Hike Defence Spending to 2.5% of GDP by Cutting Aid Budget, Says Starmer

Stewart Harper: Why defence and development should go hand in hand in building British security

Stewart Harper is a a Conservative activist, a former parliamentary candidate, and was part of the Coalition for Global Prosperity’s first cohort of Future Leaders. The events of the last few days have demonstrated, if evidence was required, that we need to make better provision for our own defence.  So, the decision by the Labour government to match the Conservatives’ manifesto pledge, and increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, is a …

Soldier pay rises, NICs and nuclear weapons to swallow up extra cash for defence

The increase in UK defence spending risks being swallowed up by the rising costs of Armed Forces personnel, the nuclear deterrent and demands on the equipment budget, experts have warned.Keir Starmer’s announcement of £6bn more in real terms for defence from 2027 – reaching 2.5 per cent of GDP – is expected to be spent on filling gaps in weaponry and servicemen and women, with the extra hike to 3 per cent during the next Parliament likely to fun…

Cutting international aid to pay for defence is Starmer’s first spending review trade-off

Cutting international aid to pay for defence is Starmer’s first spending review trade-off sam.macrory Wed, 26/02/2025 - 18:30 The government’s decision to slash the aid budget to increase defence spending is controversial. 4 Comment Ben Paxton Institute for Government Yes Starmer's defence spending decision might earn plaudits from the White House – but could the real beneficiary could be China? Public finances International development Defence …

Starmer announces aid cuts to fund defence – but Britain’s days as an aid superpower are already long over

Keir Starmer’s announcement that the UK will cut foreign aid in order to fund more defence spending seems like smart politics. With the US’s commitment to European security in question, it is clear that European countries, including the UK, need to spend more on defence. The US president, Donald Trump, with whom the prime minister is meeting on Thursday, has long called out Europeans for free-riding on America’s security guarantee. Credible prom…

U.K. to hike defence spending, slash aid budget

The U.K. plans to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 while cutting overseas development aid. The announcement comes on the eve of Prime Minister Keir Starmer meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Erica Natividad reports.