Keir Starmer Pledges UK Defence Spending to Reach 5% of GDP by 2035, 4.1% by 2027 Without Funding Plan

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has committed to increasing the United Kingdom's defence, security, and resilience spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, aligning with a new NATO target. This pledge includes 3.5% of GDP allocated to pure defence spending and an additional 1.5% for related security areas. Starmer emphasized the need to meet this target in an "era of radical uncertainty" but did not provide a detailed plan for funding the increase. The current defence spending stands at approximately 2.3% of GDP, with a previous government ambition to raise it to 3% by 2034.

Under the updated NATO definitions, the UK is expected to reach at least 4.1% of GDP on defence spending by 2027 as a step toward the 2035 goal. The new NATO defence investment pledge was announced ahead of a NATO summit, with a review point scheduled for 2029. Some critics have described the announcement as lacking clarity on financing, while Starmer highlighted the collective agreement among NATO allies to raise defence and security expenditure.