Streeting Denies Kicking Defence Spending Can Down the Road
Wes Streeting rejected claims that the government is putting off decisions on defence spending. He and John Healey announced that foreign firms winning UK defence contracts worth more than £50m must invest the same amount in Britain. These ‘offset’ rules will apply case by case from April 2027. Critics point out that the Budget set no path to spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030.
“I like Tan very much, he’s a friend and I respect him, but I strongly disagree with him,” Streeting said of Tan Dhesi, the Labour chair of the defence committee. Dhesi says key decisions were “kicked into the long grass” until next year’s spending review. UK defence spending is estimated at 2.6% of GDP this year, and some estimates suggest an extra £10bn a year is needed to reach the targets. Streeting hinted at more cuts to other departments, saying they were “doing some heavy lifting”. Poland, Norway and the Netherlands already have similar rules.