Labour risk major row with Trump as their vow to hike defence spending could be delayed until after next election
Labour’s pledge to increase defense expenditure to 2.5% of GDP may not be fulfilled until after the next election, which may happen as late as 2032.
Prior to last year’s election, Rishi Sunak pledged to meet the major spending goal by 2030, while Boris Johnson pledged to do so by 2028.
The promise would be fulfilled “as soon as the economic circumstances permit,” according to Sir Keir Starmerhas.
However, a number of defense experts told The Sun that they now anticipate that goal to be pushed into the next ten years by the government’s historic defense review, which is scheduled to be released in the upcoming months.
That might lead to a serious conflict with Donald Trump, who has called for NATO members and European countries to drastically increase their defense budgets in order to prevent American taxpayers from footing the bill for European security.
According to the new US president, NATO countries should be required to contribute 5% of their domestic production to military expenditures.
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Treasury and Defense sources stated last night that no final decision on the timeline had yet been made, but they did not refute the 2032 allegation.
Experts estimate that in order to meet the 2.5 objective, UK defense spending, which was 57 billion last year, or roughly 2.3% of GDP, would need to increase to 87 billion annually.
Britain now spends more on illness than on defense, according to a recent revelation.
The 65 billion bill for health-related subsidies, which cost more than the 57 billion going to the military, has been advised to be curtailed by the ministers.