TORY MP for Central Devon and Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride has backed the government’s vow to boost military spending and put the country’s defence industry on a “war footing”.
The defence budget will go up gradually over the next six years to 2.5 per cent of GDP, reaching £87 billion a year in 2030.
The UK spent 2.07 per cent of its national income on the military last year and estimates the figure will go up to 2.3 per cent this year.
“While the financial cost of deterring threats to the UK is significant, it is imperative that we do not allow hostile states to reshape the world order,” Mel Stride MP said.
PM Rishi Sunak announced the extra cash boost during a visit to Poland, describing the world as “the most dangerous it has been since the end of the Cold War”.
"As our adversaries align, we must do more to defend our country, our interests, and our values,” he said.
“[This] is a generational investment in British security and British prosperity, which makes us safer at home and stronger abroad.”
Downing Street added that an “axis of autocratic states like Russia, Iran and China” were increasingly working together to “undermine democracies".
The guideline defence spend for NATO nations is two per cent of GDP. The biggest spender in 2023 was Poland at 3.9 per cent, followed by the US, Estonia, Latvia and the UK.
Western European nations fell short of the guideline with France spending 1.9 per cent, Germany 1.57 per cent and Spain just 1.26 per cent.
The UK government hopes its new commitment will set “a new standard for other major European NATO economies to follow”.
It has also committed an extra £500 million this year to the UK’s support package for Ukraine, on top of £2.5 billion already provided.
Downing Street said the war in Ukraine has shown battlefield success depends on being able to make weapons and replace key equipment quickly.
The government has promised a further £10 billion over the next 10 years “to grow our domestic munitions production pipeline and increase stockpiles”.