Move will see Britain spend 2.5 percent of GDP on defense by end of the decade as Downing Street urges ‘other major European NATO economies to follow.’
The U.K. promised to pump an extra £75 billion into its defense budget over the next six years in a move that will take its spending well above a crucial NATO target and pile pressure on European allies to follow suit.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said during a trip to Poland Tuesday that the new package is the “biggest strengthening of our national defense for a generation," while his office argued it “sets a new standard for other major European NATO economies to follow.”
The move will see the U.K. spend the equivalent of 2.5 percent of GDP per year on defense by the end of the decade — something which had previously been only a vague ambition for the country when resources allow.
They guy is going to be in power for a couple of months. Why would anyone listen to him?
Well Starmer has agreed with pretty much everything Tories have said so far, so there’s a very good chance he will agree with this too
This is the best summary I could come up with:
WARSAW — The U.K. promised to pump an extra £75 billion into its defense budget over the next six years in a move that will take its spending well above a crucial NATO target and pile pressure on European allies to follow suit.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said during a trip to Poland Tuesday that the new package is the “biggest strengthening of our national defense for a generation," while his office argued it “sets a new standard for other major European NATO economies to follow.”
In a statement accompanying Sunak’s announcement, No.10 Downing Street said: "If all NATO countries committed at least 2.5 percent of their GDP to defense, our collective budget would increase by more than £140 billion.”
The new package will include an investment of an extra £10 billion over the next decade on munitions production and “radical” reforms of Britain’s defense procurement procedures, the British government said.
The announcement comes after POLITICO reported that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was preparing to ask Sunak to up Britain’s defense spending in a bilateral meeting tomorrow.
Britain’s main opposition Labour Party — on course for government on current polling — has said it wants to increase defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP, but has not committed to a timeframe for doing so.
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