Burnham left with £4.7bn bill for Starmer’s new defence investment plan

Lead

Keir Starmer has announced a £298bn defence investment plan (Dip) in his final days as prime minister, a long-delayed commitment that will require his successor, Andy Burnham, to find an extra £4.7bn in his first budget. The plan, presented on Tuesday, is funded partly by redirecting money from road and energy schemes, and has already drawn sharp criticism from MPs whose constituencies face project cuts and from opposition parties who call it insufficient.

Coverage comparison

Reports from The Guardian describe the plan as a major policy push by the outgoing prime minister, who insisted it was an existing commitment rather than a new announcement. The paper notes that the Dip was originally due in the autumn but was delayed for nearly a year, a period that saw the resignation of defence secretary John Healey, who wanted defence spending to rise to 3% of GDP by 2030, while the plan only lifts it to 2.68% by the end of the decade.

The Guardian also reports that the plan will be funded by taking money from other departments' capital budgets, including transport and energy. This has led to anger among MPs whose constituencies lose road improvements, and the East Midlands mayor, Claire Ward, has called the cuts unacceptable.

A separate report focuses on the fiscal challenge left to Burnham, describing the £4.7bn shortfall as an "unexploded bomb" and a "delayed-action poison pill", with Conservatives and defence insiders criticising the outgoing government for leaving the funding gap unresolved.

Key claims

• The UK government has announced a £15bn military spending plan, which will be funded by taking money from road and energy schemes.
• The plan includes more than £8bn for a new stealth fighter jet, over £63bn for nuclear weapons systems, and more than £5bn for drones, according to The Guardian.
• Overall defence spending will rise from 2.6% of GDP in 2027 to 2.7%, or nearly £80bn, by 2030. Starmer said that would put the UK "on a trajectory" to hit 3% in the next parliament, though it remains below a Nato target of 3.5% by 2035.
• Andy Burnham will have to find an extra £4.7bn for defence in his first budget; sources close to him said he would not try to renegotiate the Dip, and he was not told about the funding gap when briefed on the plan.
• The plan will cancel or delay key transport infrastructure projects, including the A46 Newark bypass widening, which Hamish Falconer, MP for Lincoln and Middle East minister, called "well advanced, long awaited, excellent value for money and of strategic importance". Robert Jenrick, the Reform MP for Newark, said he was "furious that such an important project for the area has been thrown into disarray".
• The prime minister warned his successor not to borrow more to pay for defence, saying "defence bonds are just borrowing by another name" and that borrowing would push interest rates higher.

Perspectives

Government position: Keir Starmer defended the plan as making Britain safer by "driving a generational transformation of our armed forces", focusing on readiness, ammunition stockpiles, and reversing previous cuts. He argued that funding defence through borrowing would be irresponsible, given that £1 in every £10 already goes on interest payments.

Opposition criticism: James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, called the plan "too little, too late", saying it barely increases spending and is almost a year overdue. Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, called it "a political choice that makes us all less safe".

MPs and local leaders: Hamish Falconer and Robert Jenrick voiced anger at the cancellation or delay of road projects in their constituencies. Claire Ward, the East Midlands mayor, said she was unaware of the cuts until Starmer's speech and criticised them as unacceptable.

Conservative assessment: The Conservatives described the plan as a "delayed-action poison pill" for Burnham, while a defence insider called the £4.7bn black hole "madness after all that wrangling".

Burnham's team: Sources close to Burnham said he would not renegotiate the Dip but acknowledged he would have to find nearly £5bn more than expected, describing the situation as an "unexploded bomb". The Guardian understands Burnham was not told about the funding gap when briefed.