LABOUR’S Defence Secretary John Healey said spending 3% of GDP on defence was no longer an “ambition” but a certainty.
The UK Government's 10-year defence plan, which is due to be announced on Monday, is said to be “unaffordable” without the increased spending, The Times has reported.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer had previously outlined the 3% target by 2034 as an “ambition”, but Healey has now said it is a certainty.
Healey’s comments mean the Labour Government would be committed to spending more than £10 billion extra on defence every year despite criticism over proposed cuts to public services.
In February, Starmer announced that the UK would spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by April 2027, raiding the international development budget, which was a decision branded by the Scottish Government as “deeply disappointing”.
At the same time, Starmer also outlined an “ambition” to reach 3% by 2034, a target which was reportedly described by government sources as still an “ambition” this week.
However, Healey (below) told The Times on Saturday: “In the next parliament, this country will spend 3 per cent of our GDP on defence.”
When pressed whether this was a firm commitment, he said he had “no doubt” Britain would be spending 3% “in the next parliament”.
He said there was a “certain decade of rising defence spending”, adding: “It allows us to plan for the long term. It allows us to deal with the pressures.”
It is unclear whether Healey’s comments were an attempt to pressure the Treasury into approving the spending or if it was a commitment that has been agreed across Whitehall.
It was also reported that the review, which was due to be published during VE Day week this month, into Britain's defence spending had been delayed because of rows with the Treasury.
One source told The Times there had been “discontent that the Ministry of Defence is using it to push for more defence spending”.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has estimated that reaching 3% of GDP by the next parliament would cost the UK an additional £17.3bn in 2029-30.
The 130-page review reportedly will warn of the “immediate and pressing” danger posed by Russia and will also describe Iran and North Korea as “regional disruptors”.
The review comes as other government departments are still negotiating how much they will have to spend over the next three years.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “This government has announced the largest sustained increase to defence spending since the end of the Cold War — 2.5 per cent by 2027 and 3 per cent in the next parliament when fiscal and economic conditions allow, including an extra £5 billion this financial year.
“The review will rightly set the vision for how that uplift will be spent, including new capabilities to put us at the leading edge of innovation in Nato, investment in our people and making defence an engine for growth across the UK — making Britain more secure at home and strong abroad.”
NATO member states are expected to agree to a defence spending target during a summit in June with the target reportedly possibly being as high as 3.5% of GDP.
