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Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis has called on Andy Burnham, widely expected to become the UK's next prime minister, to increase defence spending dramatically from 2030 and "evidence the trajectory" towards a Nato target that would mean £25bn a year more for the military by the middle of the next decade.
Speaking before the annual Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, Jarvis said he was confident that Burnham valued national security, while openly lobbying him for cash that would probably have to come from cuts elsewhere. "What I absolutely will want to see is that in the next spending review we commit the resources to evidence the trajectory to 3.5% [of GDP]," Jarvis said.
Coverage comparison
The Guardian reported that Jarvis, a former paratrooper, has been in contact with Burnham and his team to discuss defence priorities and the £298bn, four-year defence investment plan (Dip) that was finally published last week after months of ministerial wrangling. Jarvis said: "I've known Andy for a very long time and I have not a shred of doubt that as prime minister he will make sure that we've got the resources that we need at a point of challenge."
Al Jazeera reported that the plan's commitment to spend an additional £15bn came under scrutiny within hours of its release after accompanying documents showed that almost a third of the funding still needed to be found in a budget later this year. Minister of Defence Procurement Luke Pollard said Burnham only found out about the funding hole on the day it was published, but added: "It's not unusual for governments to make announcements saying this is what we'll spend, and then to complete the details of that at the next budget."
Jarvis sidestepped repeated questions about whether it had been made clear to Burnham that he was being left with a funding gap, telling BBC Newsnight: "Of course, we've been talking to Andy Burnham and his team about this plan," and pointing to Starmer's focus on a "smooth transition" of power.
Separately, The Guardian reported that the Treasury has carried out no analysis of the trade-offs necessary for the UK to hit the 3.5% of GDP defence spending promise made to Nato. Under questioning in a joint session of the Treasury and defence select committees, Chief Secretary Lucy Rigby repeatedly said that how to fund additional defence spending would be a matter for "the next prime minister". Treasury select committee chair Meg Hillier reminded her: "You are the chief secretary of Treasury. You're the one in the government who oversees all the public spending." When pressed whether the Treasury had done an analysis, Rigby responded: "No, is the short answer."
Nato's secretary general, Mark Rutte, said he was confident Burnham would stick to the alliance's long-term spending commitments, and that the man expected to be the UK's next prime minister would recognise that rearmament can spur economic growth. Rutte said he did not expect the UK to meet the 3.5% target "in one big step" when its long-delayed defence investment plan was published on Tuesday. But he believed Burnham would see broader value in boosting UK defence spending by nearly £30bn a year, and that "judging from history", Labour prime ministers had shown "a consistent commitment to Nato".
Rutte, who met Keir Starmer, Dan Jarvis, and Yvette Cooper ahead of the summit, also said: "I can imagine that the new prime minister will be extremely interested in the issue of economic growth and more jobs. Defence spending does two things at the same time. One, your first priority as a government, keep the country safe, obviously number one. But also second [is the] impact of your defence investments. Next to keeping the country safe and strong, is [the fact] it will create jobs."
Key claims
- The UK aims to meet the Nato target of spending 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035, according to The Guardian.
- Dan Jarvis called on Andy Burnham to increase defence spending dramatically from 2030, as reported by The Guardian.
- The defence investment plan (Dip) was finally published after months of ministerial wrangling, as reported by The Guardian.
- Jarvis secured an extra £1.5bn for defence over the next four years, according to The Guardian.
- The Treasury has not carried out an analysis of the trade-offs necessary for the UK to hit the 3.5% of GDP defence spending promise, as reported by The Guardian.
- The funding gap for the defence investment plan is £4.7bn, according to Al Jazeera.
- Nato's secretary general, Mark Rutte, said he is confident Andy Burnham will stick to the alliance's long-term spending commitments, as reported by The Guardian.
- The defence investment plan aims to spend an additional £15bn on defence over the next four years, according to Al Jazeera.
- Andy Burnham will have to find an additional £4.7bn to close a defence funding gap, as reported by Al Jazeera.