LONDON — The U.K. chancellor has promised an uplift in defense spending by 2030 to “set the direction” for meeting NATO’s target of 3.5% of GDP by 2035 — but didn’t lay out details that explained how the government will get there.
John Healey, who previously served as defense secretary, gave his first budget as chancellor Wednesday, setting out the government’s tax and spending plans.
He committed for the first time to spending 3% of GDP on the nation’s defences by 2030 — something he had called for when he resigned as defense secretary under Keir Starmer — but declined to say where he would find the money, stating it would fall to a broader review of government spending next year.
He said the increase in spending would include “looking hard at public spending” and using “innovative financing,” including a joint procurement initiative with Finland, Poland, and the Netherlands.
Healey’s more immediate task was to find £4.7 billion to plug gaps in the blueprint for developing the U.K.’s armed forces, the Defence Investment Plan, published earlier this year after long delays. The Treasury said this money would come from “reprioritization of capital budgets” but didn’t specify which projects would be cut.
The chancellor and prime minister both sought to show they had prioritized the U.K.’s security commitments in the budget, with Andy Burnham telling MPs he had spoken to Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of a statement pledging £10 billion in additional economic and military support for Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte posted on X: “I welcome this move to put [the U.K.] on a credible path towards meeting the commitment made by all NATO Allies in The Hague — to ensure we’re all investing what’s needed to remain ready [and] able to deter aggression and defend our freedom and security.”
However, the lack of detail did not go unnoticed in the budget’s immediate aftermath.
Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch responded to Healey’s speech: “You can’t have social security without national security… There are huge problems coming down the road but this Budget is simply trying to get through the day.”
Kelly Maddison of the manufacturers’ body Make UK Defence said work was needed “on how exactly it plans to reach 3% of GDP on defence by 2030” and “industry needs to know that the commitment to defence is there long term to strengthen business confidence to invest.”