Keir Starmer boosts UK defense spending to 2.5% of GDP to confront Putin in Ukraine and garner support from Trump before US visit

Keir Starmer warned that Vladimir Putin must be stopped in Ukraine to protect the rest of Europe today as he put the UK on a war footing. 

The Prime Minister has promised to speed up a rise in the UK’s defense budget due to Russia’s aggression and the increasing lack of concern from the US regarding European security.

He has committed to raising the budget to 2.5% of the UK’s GDP by 2027, which equates to an additional £13.4 billion, just before an important meeting with Donald Trump later this week.

This increase is described as the largest continuous rise since the Cold War ended and is set to reach 3% in the subsequent Parliament post-2029.

The uplift will be paid for by cutting to foreign aid budget, but Sir Keir defended the move saying that the defence cash would boost ‘British jobs, skills and investment’.

And it was welcomed by the US, with defence secretary Pete Hegseth saying it was ‘a strong step from an enduring partner’.

In a Downing Street press conference this evening, Sir Keir said: ‘The reason for this is straightforward: Putin’s aggression does not stop in Ukraine.

‘Russian spy ships menace our waters, Russian planes enter our airspace, Russian cyber attacks hit our NHS, and just seven years ago, there was a Russian chemical weapons attack in broad daylight on the streets of Salisbury.

‘We can’t hide from this. And […] I know people, have felt the impact of this conflict through rising bills and prices.

‘But unless Ukraine is properly protected from Putin, then Europe will only become more unstable, and that will hurt us even more.’

In the latest rollercoaster developments: 

• The US took an axe to decades-old alliances at the UN last night – voting with Russia, China and North Korea on resolutions about Ukraine. It is thought to be the first time since 1945 that America sided with Russia at the international body on an issue of European security.
• The president used an awkward meeting with Emmanuel Macron in Washington to suggest it will be for Europe to provide guarantees in Ukraine if he strikes a peace deal with Moscow, three years after Putin‘s full-scale invasion. 
• Mr Trump launched a fresh jibe at another erstwhile ally, calling Canadian premier Justin Trudeau ‘governor’ in a reference to his claim that the country should become a US state. 
• Mr Trump reiterated his intention of imposing ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on the EU and UK over VAT – even though it is a sales tax rather than being levied on imports alone.
• There was a glimmer of hope as America and Ukraine look to be closing in on a deal to develop rare earth minerals. Supporters say that could incentivise the US to defend Kyiv‘s sovereignty.
• Sir Keir is expected to have a call with Mr Macron to get tips on how to deal with Mr Trump before his own turn in the Oval Office on Thursday.
• European leaders will convene again in the UK as soon as Sunday to take stock of events. 

Sir Keir also confirmed he will host European leaders in the UK on Sunday, after he returns from the US.

European alarm has been mounting over the US direction since Mr Trump’s bombshell phone conversation with Vladimir Putin, unilaterally opening peace talks without involving Ukraine.

The US president has branded Volodymyr Zelensky a ‘dictator’, even elections have only been suspended while Russia occupies around a fifth of the country.  

Last night the US joined Russia in voting against a European-drafted UN resolution supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and condemning Moscow’s aggression. It was passed by the General Assembly (UNGA).

A US-drafted resolution at the UN Security Council was then supported by Russia and China, as it backed an end to the conflict but did not include any criticism of Moscow. 

The UK and France abstained after attempts to amend the wording were vetoed.

Although Sir Keir claimed that the increase would mean a ratchet of £13.4billion a year from 2027, in fact it is more like £6billion in real terms. 

The comments come after huge pressure – including from a Mail campaign – to invest in the UK’s defences. 

The move could also provide Sir Keir a warmer welcome at the White House, where many MPs fear he is facing mission impossible. 

The premier said the US is our ‘most important bilateral alliance’ and rejected the idea the UK would have to ‘choose’ between allies.

‘I will be clear, I want this relationship to go from strength to strength,’ he told MPs this afternoon.

However, Mr Trump has argued that European states should be spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence – far more than the US does. And critics immediate said the boost will not be enough, warning that Sir Keir will be ‘eaten alive’ by the US president. 

Former defence secretary Ben Wallace said it was a ‘staggering desertion of leadership’. 

‘Tone deaf to dangers of the world and demands of the United States. Such a weak commitment to our security and Nation puts us all at risk,’ he said.

Aid charities also vented fury at the cut, with Labour former Cabinet minister David Miliband saying it was a ‘blow to Britain’s proud reputation as a global humanitarian and development leader’. 

Sir Keir told MPs: ‘We must find courage in our history, courage in who we are as a nation, because courage is what our own era now demands of us.

‘So starting today, I can announce this Government will begin the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War. We will deliver our commitment to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence, but we will bring it forward so that we reach that level in 2027, and we will maintain that for the rest of this Parliament.

‘And let me spell it out, that means spending £13.4billion more on defence every year from 2027.’

Funding for intelligence and security services will bring total defence spending to 2.6 per cent of GDP from 2027, Sir Keir said, as he cautioned that enemies ‘are sophisticated in cyberattacks, sabotage, even assassination’. 

‘I’ve long argued that in the face of ongoing generational challenges, all European allies must step up and do more for our own defence, so subject to economic and fiscal conditions, and aligned with our strategic and operational needs, we will also set a clear ambition for defence spending to rise to 3 per cent of GDP in the next parliament.

‘I want to be very clear, the nature of warfare has changed significantly. That is clear from the battlefield in Ukraine, and so we must modernise and reform our capabilities as we invest.’

Admitting it was not an announcement he wanted to make, Sir Keir told the Commons: ‘In the short term, it can only be funded through hard choices, and in this case, that means we will cut our spending on development assistance, moving from 0.5 per cent of GNI (gross national income) today, to 0.3 per cent in 2027, fully funding our increased investment in defence.’ 

He added: ‘We must change our national security posture, because a generational challenge requires a generational response, that will demand some extremely difficult and painful choices.

‘And through those choices, as hard as they are, we must also seek unity, a whole society effort that will reach into the lives, the industries, and the homes of the British people.’

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch backed the cut in aid to fund defence and urged Sir Keir to take up her suggestion of also raiding the welfare budget to boost spending on the military.

‘I’m very pleased to hear the Prime Minister announce that increase to 2.5 per cent by 2027. All of us on this side of the House welcome that, we have all wanted to see more spending on defence,’ she said.

Former Royal Navy commander and aircraft carrier captain Tom Sharpe said: ‘In the current fiscal climate it seems churlish to knock any increase. 

‘Having said that, it’s not enough. It will continue to strain our existing forces (bad) while placing ever more emphasis on ensuring the money we do have is spent well (good). 

‘Declaring it two days before meeting your key ally who will certainly object to lack of ambition is interesting timing as well.’ 

Ex-Army intelligence officer Philip Ingram said: ‘It is too little, too late. He needed to say 2.5 immediately with the current Strategic Defence Review looking at 3 to 5 per cent if necessary and identifying a realistic timeframe while working with other departments to identify where funding can be found. 

‘Otherwise, it is a pathetic sap to try to placate Trump who will eat him alive on Thursday.’

IFS assistant director Ben Zaranko warned that pushing defence spending towards 3 per cent would require cuts elsewhere or tax rises.

‘If defence spending needs to go higher than 2.5 per cent of GDP, cuts to aid won’t be enough,’ he said. 

‘Getting towards 3 per cent of GDP will eventually mean more tough choices and sacrifices elsewhere – whether higher taxes, or cuts to other bits of government. 

‘The world has changed, and one question is whether the government’s pre-existing promises on tax and spend might need to change as well.’

The think-tank researcher also highlighted that Sir Keir had used a ‘misleadingly large’ figure for the increase – by assuming that the budget would be frozen in cash terms otherwise. That would effectively be a reduction in real terms. 

The UK marked the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion yesterday by unveiling new sanctions packages.

The Foreign Office announced 107 new designations that include 40 ‘shadow fleet’ ships and 14 ‘new kleptocrats’, including Russian billionaire Roman Trotsenko, as part of the largest sanctions package since 2022.

North Korean officials involved in sending troops to fight for Russia, Kyrgyz bank OJSC Keremet and companies in China, Turkey and India that supply tools and goods to Russia’s military, were also listed.

Boris Johnson sounded optimism about progress on a minerals deal this morning, saying the US will only benefit when there is a ‘free, sovereign and secure Ukraine’.

The former PM told LBC that Ukrainians had ‘kept their cool’ and ‘negotiated very hard’ with US President Donald Trump after initially rejecting a deal that led to an ‘awful ratcheting up of the rhetoric against Ukraine’.

‘I’ve obviously seen some drafts. I’ve seen the latest one today. It contains some very good commitments by the US to the freedom, sovereignty and security of Ukraine … It commits the fund that the Ukraine and the US will set up to long-term investment in the security of Ukraine. There’s good stuff in it.’

He suggested the US would not benefit from the deal unless lasting peace in Ukraine was secured.

‘There’s no way America is going to get its hands on any proceeds from Ukrainian minerals until there is a free, sovereign and secure Ukraine. That is a massive, massive prize, and I think, worth going for.’

The deal is about Mr Trump needing to show ‘the wackos who seem to support Putin … that he’s got something in exchange for American support and long term American support for Ukraine’.