Key facts
- UK Chancellor John Healey will not set a date for meeting the 3% of GDP defense spending target in his upcoming budget.
- The budget on October 28 will prioritize full funding of the defense investment plan.
- A spending review next year will outline a pathway to the 3.5% of GDP defense spending commitment by 2035.
- Healey previously advocated for reaching the 3% target by 2030.
- Defense spending is forecast to reach 2.7% of GDP by 2030.
UK Chancellor John Healey will defer setting a deadline for the nation to meet its target of spending 3% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defense until next year's spending review. The Treasury confirmed that Healey's inaugural budget on October 28 will instead concentrate on fully funding the existing defense investment plan.
Healey, who previously served as defense secretary and resigned in June, had been a vocal proponent of reaching the 3% target by 2030. However, since succeeding Rachel Reeves as chancellor under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Healey has opted to postpone a definitive timeline.
The three-year defense investment plan, announced by Starmer, faces an approximate annual funding shortfall of £1.2 billion, which Healey's predecessor suggested would need to be covered by cuts in other government departments. The Treasury has indicated no further details on the timeline will be provided in the upcoming budget.
A government spokesperson stated that the Prime Minister and Chancellor are committed to fully funding the defense investment plan. The spending review, expected next year, will establish a path toward meeting the NATO commitment of 3.5% of GDP on defense by 2035, with a specific target date for reaching 3% to be set along that path. Current projections suggest defense spending will reach 2.7% of GDP by 2030, partly due to a reduction in UK foreign aid.
Healey emphasized fiscal discipline as a chancellor's primary responsibility, stating that the country cannot address its challenges by overspending. He is scheduled to attend a G20 finance ministers' meeting in North Carolina, where global growth prospects, high energy prices, volatile bond markets, and trade issues will be discussed.