UK to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027

Sir Keir Starmer vowed to “fight for peace” as he announced a £6bn boost to Britain’s defence spending funded by aid cuts

Keir Starmer, the UK’s prime minister, announced a £6bn boost to Britain’s defence funded by aid cuts. In his announcement, he said military spending will be boosted to 2.5 per cent in 2027, up from 2.3 per cent of national income.

He told the House of Commons that the extra spending in this parliament would be fully funded by a cut to Britain’s overseas aid budget, admitting that the country faced “extremely difficult and painful choices.”

Starmer also set out a longer-term ambition to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence “in the next parliament” as he prepares to fly to Washington on Wednesday for talks with US President Donald Trump.

The US government has made concerns about Europe’s will to beef up its defences and not rely heavily on the US. This move is expected to communicate the UK’s intention to continually contribute to the continent's security.

Starmer said the £6bn increase in military spending would be funded entirely by reducing the UK’s £15.3bn aid budget from 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent over the next two years.

To read the full transcript of the prime minister’s statement on defence spending, click here.