Sir Keir Starmer said the hike in defence spending to counter Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Europe would benefit businesses and families across the UK.
Eighty years after the end of the war against Nazi Germany, the Prime Minister said “the battle lines in Ukraine” were now “the front line for Western values”.
He said his commitment to increase military spending to a 2.5% share of the economy from April 2027 would result in a “defence dividend” for companies.
Sir Keir said the Government would set out a “major overhaul of the British armed services”, with the “root and branch” strategic defence review due in the coming weeks.
On the anniversary of VE Day he said the commitment echoed the promises made at the end of the Second World War.
It was “in investment in British pride and the British people to build a nation that once again lives up to the promises made to that generation who fought for our values, our freedom and our security”.
Speaking at the London Defence Conference, the Prime Minister confirmed a £563 million contract for Rolls-Royce for the maintenance of Britain’s fleet of Typhoon fighter jets.
The UK has committed to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product – a measure of the size of the economy – on defence from April 2027, rising to 3% during the next Parliament.
Sir Keir said: “This isn’t just a fight for freedom and democracy in Ukraine. No, it’s a new, more dangerous era of history, a period of global instability that fuels insecurity for working people here at home.
“The British people have already paid a price for Putin’s aggression in Ukraine with rising bills and prices.
“Russia already menaces our security. They’ve launched cyber attacks on our NHS spread disinformation online, and we cannot forget, just a few years ago, a chemical weapons attack on our streets in Salisbury in broad daylight in the heart of England.
“No, the battle lines in Ukraine are the front line for Western values, and the argument that defines this age is simple: national security is economic security and that’s why we’re boosting defence spending with the largest sustained increase since the Cold War.”
