British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Tuesday that the UK will accelerate its planned increase in defense spending, just ahead of his scheduled visit to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington.
Starmer outlined plans to raise military spending from 2.3 percent of Britain’s GDP to 2.5 percent by 2027, followed by an increase to 2.6 percent in 2028. “This government will begin the biggest sustained increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War,” Starmer told parliament, according to CNN.
He stated, “We must reject any false choice between our allies. Between one side of the Atlantic or the other. That is against our history, country and party.” He also called the U.S. Britain’s “most important bilateral alliance” and said, “This week when I meet President Trump, I will be clear: I want this relationship to go from strength to strength.”
Starmer also expressed a long-term ambition to raise defense spending to 3 percent in the next parliamentary term, which will begin by 2029 at the latest. However, he did say that this goal would depend on fiscal conditions when that time comes.
Trump has urged NATO countries to boost their defense spending to 5 percent, signaling a shift in U.S. priorities and warning that America will not be responsible for continuously maintianing Europe’s security in the future.
When questioned by reporters about whether Trump’s stance influenced his decision, Starmer said the increase was “three years in the making,” pointing to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. “President Trump thinks we should do more, and I agree with him. It chimes with my thinking on this,” he said.
“This is very much my decision, based on my assessment of the circumstances that we face as a country, and it is taken first and foremost to ensure that the United Kingdom and its citizens are safe and secure,” Starmer added.
To help fund the defense budget increase, the UK will reduce international development spending from 0.5 percent of GDP to 0.3 percent do in in the coming years. “That is not an announcement I am happy to make,” Starmer said, adding that the defense increase “can only be funded through hard choices.”