UK Urges NATO Allies to Increase Defence Spending to 2.5 Percent

Pilots from an RAF Typhoon squadron taking part in NATO's Operation Biloxi, landing at Mihail Kogqlniceanu air base in Romania on March 25, 2024. Ministry of Defence

The new Labour government will urge NATO allies to increase defence spending to 2.5 percent of GDP, as the alliance marks its 75th anniversary.

The UK will also raise its own spending “as soon as possible,” confirmed Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey in a joint commentary written for The Telegraph on Monday.

“We will increase spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence as soon as possible, whilst arguing all Nato allies should adopt this as a new defence target,” they said.

The minsters added that the government will conduct a Strategic Defence Review to assess the state of the British armed forces, the nature of current threats, and military capabilities needed to protect the nation.

In April, then-leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer had committed a future Labour government to increase defence spending, as well as continue to back the UK’s nuclear deterrent Trident programme, and remain a strong supporter of NATO.

Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had also pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5 percent, amid rising security threats from an “axis of autocratic states” like China, Russia, and Iran. NATO allies had agreed to a 2 percent minimum spend in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea and in response to rising instability in the Middle East.

‘Nato First’ Defence Strategy

Ministers emphasised that international defence is crucial to domestic security, calling NATO the “ultimate guarantor of all allies to live freely and build a secure, more prosperous future for their people.”

“Our Government’s commitment to Nato is therefore unshakeable,” they wrote, continuing: “We will have a ‘Nato first’ defence strategy. European security will be our foreign and defence priority. Our commitment to Britain’s nuclear deterrent is absolute.”

Increasing European partnerships in defence and other matters is a core strategy of the new Labour government. On Sunday, the foreign secretary wrote that he would be discussing with his counterparts in German, Poland, and Sweden proposals for an “ambitious and broad-ranging UK-EU Security Pact,” as part of wider efforts to “reset” relations with the EU and develop closer ties with the trading bloc.

Support for Ukraine

Mr. Healey and Mr. Lammy will be travelling with Sir Keir to Washington later on Tuesday to join NATO allies to mark the 75th anniversary of the defence alliance’s founding.

The Russia–Ukraine war will be at the top of the agenda for member states at the summit, as well as discussing other crises in the Indo-Pacific and Middle East.

Before the election, Mr. Lammy and Mr. Healey visited Kyiv to affirm Labour’s commitment to Ukraine. This stance was confirmed by the prime minister with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week following Sir Keir’s victory in the polls.

The new government also wants to explore the option of bringing Ukraine into NATO, with the foreign minister saying on Sunday that he wanted to discuss with his counterparts how NATO allies can provide Ukraine “with its own clear path to joining our alliance.”

On Sunday, the defence minister flew to Odesa to meet with Mr. Zelenskyy, pledging the new government would provide more material for the war effort, including artillery guns and ammunition rounds, small military boats, de-mining vehicles, and nearly 100 precision Brimstone missiles.

Shadow defence secretary John Healey speaks at the Institute of Directors, hosted by RUSI, in London, on Feb. 7, 2023. James Manning/PA

In April, the Conservative government announced its largest-ever military aid package to Kyiv, which included 400 vehicles, 1,600 strike and air defence missiles including Storm Shadow long-range precision-guided missiles, 4 million rounds of ammunition, and 60 boats, including offshore raiding craft.

Mr. Healey said in a press release that the UK’s commitment with the Ukrainian people “is absolute, as is our resolve to confront Russian aggression and pursue [Russian President Vladimir] Putin for his war crimes.”

“This government is steadfast in our commitment to continue supplying military assistance and will stand shoulder to shoulder with our Ukrainian friends for as long as it takes,” he said.

So far, the UK has provided more than £7.6 billion of military support to Ukraine since the Russian invasion.