British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to increase the UK’s annual defence budget to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and eventually to 3%, a level not achieved since the end of the Cold War. The initiative, set out before he met US President Donald Trump in Washington, is intended to signal Britain’s determination to play its part in European security as the US takes a lead in negotiating peace with Russia over the Ukraine war.
In order to finance the rise from its current 2.3%, Starmer outlined a 40% reduction of the UK’s overseas aid budget a move he described as regrettable but vital to help Ukraine and European defence. The overseas aid budget would fall from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income by 2027.
This will be the biggest sustained defense spending rise since the Cold War,” Starmer informed parliament, stressing the call for European partners to shoulder greater responsibility for defense. The surge, he noted, would further support Britain’s industrial base, generate employment opportunities, and foster economic growth.
The budget increase would have the UK spend £13.4 billion ($17 billion) more every year on defence by 2027. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth greeted the move as a “strong step from an enduring partner.”
Starmer’s commitment is consistent with NATO’s drive for more military spending and is a strategic communication to Trump, who has called on European countries to spend as much as 5% of GDP on defence. Starmer believes that this commitment will secure a US security backstop for Ukraine, underpinning European stability in the face of changing geopolitical threats.
