Lead

Keir Starmer was forced on the defensive in the Commons over his long-delayed defence investment plan announced this week, which critics argue leaves his successor as prime minister, expected to be Andy Burnham, with an extra £4.7bn to find in his first budget.

Starmer defended his £298bn defence investment plan (Dip) at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday despite a growing backlash from insiders in Burnham’s team and from ministers and MPs resentful over cuts to key transport infrastructure projects to fund it.

Coverage comparison

Reporting from The Guardian highlights three distinct criticisms of the plan. First, that it does not raise defence spending by enough. Second, that it is not properly funded, with no explanation as to where the money will come from for almost £5bn of the increase. Third, that part of the funding comes from cuts that are unpopular, including the cancellation of road projects, which has angered Labour MPs whose constituencies are affected.

The Guardian notes that last year, under pressure from Donald Trump, Starmer and other Nato leaders committed to raising defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035. According to a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Dip does not lay out a plan to get there. 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, although it remains well below the Nato target.

Key claims

  • The Dip amounts to a £15bn spending increase, with no explanation as to where the money will come from to fund almost £5bn of this.
  • Some of the Dip is being funded by the cancellation of road projects, angering Labour MPs in affected constituencies.
  • Andy Burnham was not told about the funding gap when he was briefed on the announcement; one Burnham ally likened the plan to an “unexploded bomb”.
  • Kemi Badenoch accused Starmer of producing an insufficient plan, saying: “It is not right, and it is not fair, certainly not to our troops who put their lives on the line for all of us every single day.” She said the plan was “£5bn short” and that Starmer was “leaving this mess to his successor”.
  • Starmer accused the Conservative leader of “faux outrage” and the Tories of cutting defence.

Perspectives

Kemi Badenoch (Conservative leader)

Badenoch criticised the defence investment plan as “too weak, too little and too late”, arguing it is underfunded by £5bn and calling on the Labour government to cut welfare spending to pay for defence. She urged Burnham to “come out and condemn this plan” if he does not want to be complicit in the failure.

Labour government (Keir Starmer)

Starmer defended the plan as putting the UK “on a trajectory” to hit 3% of GDP in the next parliament, and dismissed Badenoch’s criticism as “faux outrage”, accusing the Tories of having cut defence in the past.