I welcomed the Government’s announcement last week of an increase in defence spending to 2.5% of GDP. This will result in an additional £77bn for defence over the next six years.
Like most democracies our preference is to spend money on healthcare and education. However none of that is worthwhile if security and prosperity cannot be enjoyed in peace.
The threats we face have increased significantly over recent years. Most starkly as a consequence of Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, but also through increased tensions in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific.
The report by the Commons Defence Committee, which I chair, ‘Ready for War?’ highlighted that we are placing ever greater demands on our armed forces in response to this more challenging environment. It made clear that additional resources are required to maintain the high operational tempo and ensure we are able to help deter the risk of wider war in Europe.
I am pleased the Government was listening and was delighted to hear from the Prime Minister that the uplift is being put in place.
The increased investment will fire up the UK defence industrial base: signalling a green light to UK industry to invest in capital equipment and R&D. This will spur innovation and ensure we can increase production of the munitions required to protect our armed forces. In doing so we bolster deterrence by being known to be able to sustain – if ever called on - a prolonged high intensity war. Multi-layered deterrence is the best means of preventing one ever taking place.
If all NATO countries committed at least 2.5%, our collective budget would increase by more than £140 billion. This is an important benchmark to look to as we approach the NATO summit in Washington later this year marking NATO’s 75th anniversary.
I was also pleased that alongside the American USD60bn package of the support for Ukraine the UK has also increased its commitment and made clear its for the long-term. Ukraine continues to withstand the most appalling attacks from an enemy with multiple times her resources and population – she deserves and needs our support. Russia and others recognising that resorting to brute force will fail is a powerful message for the future.
