To the Commons, where Sir Keir Starmer has just made a rather big announcement on the issue of defence. The Prime Minister took to the Chamber today to announce to parliamentarians that Labour will raise Britain’s defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 – with a commitment to hit 3 per cent by 2034 if his party wins a second term. Golly!
It wasn’t all spending increases, however. The PM announced that the proposed 0.2 per cent rise for defence over the next two years would see a cut to foreign aid spending – from 0.5 per cent of GDP to 0.3 per cent. ‘It is not an announcement I am happy to make,’ he told politicians, ‘but security must come first’. His speech signals a victory for The Spectator’s Spaff project – which raised awareness of wasteful spending including, you guessed it, the foreign aid budget. Mr S wonders where exactly the PM got his inspiration for today’s decision from…
Today's announcement follows the move by the US to twice side with Russia over votes at the United Nations on the third anniversary of the invasion into Ukraine. The PM was quick to hit out at Vladimir Putin today, fuming about the foreign power: ‘Russia is a menace in our waters, in our airspace and on our streets.’ He continued:
Instability in Europe will always wash up on our shores. Tyrants like Putin only respond to strength... We must stand by Ukraine. If we do not achieve a lasting piece then the economic instability, the threats to our security, will only grow.
Strong stuff. The announcement comes on the eve of Sir Keir’s big trip to see Donald Trump, with PM heading to Washington for Thursday to discuss the President's plans for Ukraine. The American leader has not been shy about expressing his frustration that European countries were not hitting the 2 per cent of GDP target and has blasted Nato countries for not spending more on defence.
But the decision of the US to side with Russia and North Korea to oppose a European resolution – which blamed Russia for its full-scale invasion and backed Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity – has more than ruffled feathers. Meanwhile Trump’s insistence that Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky is a ‘dictator’ combined with his refusal to use the same term about Putin has bolstered concerns about the new President’s approach to the conflict.
Will the PM’s latest statement help stateside talks go smoothly? Watch this space…
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