Keir Starmer is set to use one of his final acts as Prime Minister to unveil a long-delayed defence investment plan, but critics have accused him of leaving Britain’s Armed Forces underfunded and dangerously exposed at a time of growing global instability.
According to reporting by The Telegraph, Starmer will announce billions of pounds of new military spending on Tuesday, including a £5 billion commitment towards drones and autonomous warfare technology. The package is intended to modernise Britain’s military capabilities in response to threats from countries such as Russia.
However, despite the headline figures, opponents argue the package falls dramatically short of what Britain’s military chiefs have requested and leaves the UK lagging behind many of its NATO allies.
Under the plans, defence spending is expected to reach only 2.69 per cent of GDP by 2030. That figure remains well below the 3.5 per cent level that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has urged member states to achieve.
Several allies are already moving significantly faster. Poland is spending around 4.48 per cent of GDP on defence, while Lithuania and Latvia have both committed to spending well above 3.5 per cent. Germany is expected to reach 3.7 per cent by 2030, with Sweden targeting 3.5 per cent.
The announcement comes after months of internal government wrangling over defence funding and follows the dramatic resignation of former Defence Secretary John Healey earlier this month.
Healey quit after reportedly concluding that the Government’s proposed spending increase was inadequate for the challenges Britain faces. In his resignation statement, he warned that planned spending increases were nowhere near enough to meet NATO expectations or the realities of a more dangerous world.
The row exposed deep divisions at the heart of Labour over national security and defence priorities.
Defence chiefs are understood to have requested as much as £28 billion in additional funding to prepare Britain for the possibility of conflict with Russia by the end of the decade. The final settlement falls substantially below that figure.
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge accused Starmer of scrambling together a last-minute package in an attempt to secure a positive legacy before leaving office.
He argued that the settlement remains approximately £9 billion per year below what Healey himself had previously suggested was necessary to keep Britain adequately protected.
The new investment plan focuses heavily on drones, autonomous systems and emerging military technologies. It includes funding for attack drones, surveillance systems, autonomous fighter aircraft and new unmanned naval vessels.
The Government also plans to replace the Royal Navy’s ageing Type 45 destroyers with a new generation of warships working alongside drone fleets. Critics have already questioned whether replacing some of Britain’s most capable warships with smaller and less proven systems represents genuine modernisation or simply a cheaper alternative driven by Treasury constraints.
There are also concerns that other areas of military spending will suffer as resources are redirected towards new technology. Reports suggest improvements to military accommodation and housing for service personnel are being delayed or deprioritised to fund equipment programmes.
For many within the Armed Forces community, that will be a bitter pill to swallow after years of complaints about poor living conditions for serving personnel and their families.
The timing of the announcement has also raised eyebrows.
Although Starmer has already announced his resignation and is due to leave office within weeks, he has chosen to press ahead with publishing the Defence Investment Plan before his successor takes over.
Allies of incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham have reportedly questioned whether a departing leader should be making long-term defence commitments with significant financial and strategic consequences.
According to reports, Burnham has privately indicated that he wants to increase defence spending further once he enters Downing Street.
The episode leaves Labour looking divided on one of the most important responsibilities of government: national defence.
For critics, the story of Starmer’s defence policy mirrors much of his premiership. Grand announcements, ambitious rhetoric and carefully managed headlines have often been followed by questions about delivery, priorities and whether the Government’s actions actually match the scale of the challenges facing the country.
With war continuing in Europe, tensions rising globally and many NATO allies accelerating military spending, opponents argue Britain can ill afford another decade of hesitation.
As Starmer prepares to leave office, his final defence plan may be remembered less for the billions it promises and more for the billions critics say are still missing.
