UK to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030, Johnson announces
The UK will increase its annual defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by the end of the decade and other Nato countries should be forced to do similarly, Boris Johnson has announced.
The Prime Minister said on the final day of the Nato summit in Madrid that “we need to invest for the long term in vital capabilities, like future air combat, while simultaneously adapting to a more dangerous and more competitive world”.
Johnson said Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg must now consider increasing Nato’s annual defence spending target for members, which is currently 2 per cent of GDP – a target only nine of 30 countries currently meet.
It comes as the government has faced criticism for reducing the number of troops and conventional weapons available to the British Army.
Rumours had swirled for days that Johnson was preparing to make a commitment to increase military spending this week, after defence secretary Ben Wallace took to the airwaves to call for a beefed up budget for his department.
Wallace said earlier this week that “there is a very real danger that Russia will lash out against wider Europe”.
“If the threat has changed so must the funding,” he said.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss has also been publicly lobbying for an increased military budget in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Johnson said it was the “logical conclusion” that the UK “will reach 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by the end of the decade”.
This would mean a real terms increase of around £10bn a year.
It comes after Number 10 this week suggested that the government will break a key manifesto pledge to increase annual defence spending above inflation every year.
The manifesto committed the Tories to increasing defence spending by 0.5 per cent above inflation every year, which would mean a double-digit boost next year as inflation continues to soar.
However, with inflation almost at double digits it appears this pledge is set to be ditched.