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Reeves grudgingly resorts to departmental salami slicing to fund UK defence budget

The Guardian UK Friday 12 June 2026, 13:00 UTC By Heather Stewart Economics editor 1 min read
Key Points

Starmer shows no will to pursue the main options for rising commitments: spending cuts, tax rises or borrowingWhen Keir Starmer wanted to promise Donald Trump that the UK would increase defence spending, he decided to fund it by slashing the UK’s aid budget – losing a cabinet minister, Anneliese Dodds, in the process. This time around, with John Healey’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) demanding an additional £18.5bn over four years to fund the defence investment plan, there was no such lever to hand.

Starmer shows no will to pursue the main options for rising commitments: spending cuts, tax rises or borrowing

When Keir Starmer wanted to promise Donald Trump that the UK would increase defence spending, he decided to fund it by slashing the UK’s aid budget – losing a cabinet minister, Anneliese Dodds, in the process.

This time around, with John Healey’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) demanding an additional £18.5bn over four years to fund the defence investment plan, there was no such lever to hand.

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Reeves (PERSON) UK (LOCATION) Starmer (PERSON) Keir Starmer (PERSON) Donald Trump (PERSON) Anneliese Dodds (PERSON) John Healey’s (PERSON) Ministry of Defence (MoD (ORG)
Originally published by The Guardian UK Read original →

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