Key facts
- Britain needs to show a credible path of annual defense budget increases to meet a Nato target.
- Nato aims for member states to spend 3.5% of GDP on defense by 2035.
- Current UK spending plans show defense levelling off at 2.7% of GDP.
- This current spending is nearly £30bn below the ultimate target.
- Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte met with UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband on Thursday.
- Rutte met with Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Wednesday.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday urged Britain to demonstrate a clear, year-on-year plan to increase its defense budget, stating that the country cannot wait until just before 2035 to meet the alliance's target of spending 3.5% of GDP on military expenditure. Rutte emphasized the need for "yearly increments" to reach the goal, which would amount to nearly £30 billion more than current spending plans.
Rutte, who met with UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband on Thursday, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Wednesday, made similar remarks to the BBC. He noted that the UK understood the target could not be met "in one go in 2034" and would have to be achieved gradually. Keir Starmer had committed the UK to the Nato-wide target in the summer of 2025, under pressure from US President Donald Trump.
Current UK spending plans, extending to 2028/9, indicate defense spending will level off at 2.7% of GDP, leaving a shortfall of nearly £30 billion. The question of how this gap will be bridged after the next general election remains, with potential implications for taxes, borrowing, or other government spending cuts. Former Defence Secretary John Healey resigned in June over Labour's refusal to commit to lifting defense spending to 3% of GDP by 2030, echoing Rutte's call for a "clear path."
Rutte expressed confidence that the current UK government remained committed to the ultimate goal and the need for gradual increases, stating, "I am absolutely confident that when it comes to the yearly increments, they totally take it and accept it, that they have to be there." He added that the specifics of the "credible path" would likely be detailed in the next year's spending review.