Sir Keir Starmer has told a NATO gathering in The Hague that Britain will devote five per cent of national income to security by 2035. The alliance’s new benchmark sets aside 3.5 per cent for core defence and 1.5 per cent for wider resilience measures such as border protection and cyber-security, giving cash-strapped members leeway while satisfying pressure from Washington for bigger budgets.
Downing Street insists the UK can hit 4.1 per cent by 2027 through areas including energy security and action against smuggling gangs, but getting core defence spending to 3.5 per cent will take another eight years and ministers have not yet said where the extra cash will come from. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates the full pledge would add around £30 billion a year in today’s money. Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel called the plan “unfunded” and urged faster increases, citing a deteriorating global picture.
The move follows years of cajoling from former US president Donald Trump, who argues the alliance’s long-standing two-per-cent floor is too low; last year only 23 members reached it. Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson Helen Maguire welcomed the 5 per cent ambition, warning that Kremlin aggression and possible shifts in a second Trump term demand “a once-in-a-generation commitment”.
Alongside the promise, the government published a National Security Strategy linking defence investment to jobs, growth and technology. New NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte hailed the 5 per cent target as “historic”, though several capitals are still working out how, or whether they can deliver.
