UK's Starmer announces 300-billion-pound defence investment plan

Outgoing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday announced a major defence spending increase, committing nearly £300 billion ($397bn) over the next four years to modernise the armed forces. The plan includes an additional £15 billion ($20bn) on top of the previous defence budget, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defence.

More than £5 billion ($6.6bn) will be allocated specifically for drones and autonomous systems over the four-year period. Starmer, who lost the support of Labour MPs and is expected to leave office next month, said the decision was made in the national interest by reprioritising aid spending towards defence.

“Last year I made the decision in the national interest to reprioritise aid spending towards defence and achieved the biggest uplift in defence spending since the end of the Cold War,” Starmer said. “That was the right choice because the world has changed. National security is economic security.” The announcement followed months of internal wrangling within Starmer’s Labour government over how to fund modernisation in the face of rising threats, particularly from Russia.

Two defence ministers resigned this month over the spending proposals, including Defence Secretary John Healey, who warned the plan risked making Britain “less safe”. Starmer’s pledge comes as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged NATO members to increase defence spending and reduce reliance on Washington.

Starmer will present the plan, which aims to spend nearly £80 billion ($105.7bn) per year by 2029, at a NATO summit in Ankara on July 7-8. He wants to signal that Britain is on track to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035. With likely successor Andy Burnham set to take power as early as July 20, Starmer acknowledged that new governments could “build” on his blueprint. Critics, noting the plan was delayed for more than nine months, described it as too little, too late.