Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer spoke to military personnel during a visit to an RAF base in Oxfordshire to meet soldiers and thank them for their service ahead of Armed Forces Day on Saturday 24 June.
Stéphane Rousseau | PA Images | Getty Images
LIVERPOOL, England — British defense officials are scrambling for more money as Finance Minister Rachel Reeves’s upcoming autumn budget threatens to intensify already troubled efforts to boost military investment.
Defense procurement secretary Maria Eagle has joined calls for the department to prove it can be more efficient under a new government as the Treasury struggles to allocate tight finances.
Eagle told a packed house of delegates at the Labor Party conference in September: “We have to make sure that there is a consensus across government, particularly the Treasury, that spending money on defence is a good way to spend it. ” .22-25.
“Let's work hard to make sure that we can convince the Treasury Department that we can be a good steward of the 2.5 percent rate that we set,” said Eagle, who took the post in July. “If we show we can spend our money better, we can reduce waste and we have a common understanding of what we need and how to get it.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer in July reiterated his pledge to increase UK defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product – a target shared by many NATO members – but he has yet to set the stage for Set a timetable for this goal.
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine has thrust into the spotlight inefficiencies in the UK defense sector, sparking calls for reform.
72 pages of House of Lords Report Articles published on Thursday last week warned of “cumbersome bureaucracy” in the recruitment process and a “cumbersome” procurement process. Even 2.5% may not be enough to meet the country's defense needs unless “highly sharp priorities” are set, the report said, adding that the government must Acknowledge the need for increased defense spending and communicate this to the public.
Reeves' budget takes center stage
The industry is currently awaiting Reeves' budget statement on October 30, during which she will provide an update on the Department of Defense's spending plansse (Defense Department) and other departments in the coming years.
One was found in the party that represented her There is a £22 billion ($29 billion) “black hole” in public finances, with the national debt now accounting for 100% of GDP. Reeves's predecessor, Jeremy Hunt from the rival Conservative Party, denied the claims, calling them “fiction.”
These measures are expected to put greater pressure on already stretched military spending. The UK National Audit Office last year warn The armed forces face their largest ever deficit since 2012 – a problem exacerbated by inflation. As a result, the Department of Defense last month reportedly asked industry suppliers to identify areas for immediate action. Budget cuts.
The Treasury will not give us more money unless we become more efficient.
Luke Pollard
Member of Parliament and Under Secretary of State for the Armed Forces
“The Ministry of Defense has entered a budget crisis this year,” Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director of defense and security think tank RUSI, said last week.
Chalmers said: “This year's budget is severely overrun because of huge wage increases in the Armed Forces, rising costs for the nuclear program and many other programs that are unfunded.”
Starmer is conducting a strategic defense review to identify shortcomings in UK military capabilities July says Reforms should ensure the armed forces can respond to growing geopolitical threats and “responsibly increase” defense spending.
in a statement. A government spokesman added that the purpose of the review was to “ensure the UK's long-term resilience”.
Britain seeks to rebrand itself as a reliable partner to its European neighbors and wider Western allies in the face of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and rising tensions with China, North Korea and Iran. This role may become more or less important depending on the outcome of next month's US presidential election and its impact on European security and the NATO alliance.
The Strategic Defense Review, due to publish its report by July 2025, will outline how UK defense spending is likely to evolve from its The current level is estimated to be close to 2.3% of GDP. However, a House of Lords report warned the timetable was too slow and defense spending decisions should not be delayed.
Luke Pollard, MP and undersecretary of state for the Armed Forces, told CNBC the review would require a “full domain approach” that takes into account threats from air, land, sea, space and cyber. ——Referring to electromagnetic warfare.
He acknowledged that the approach would require the defense sector to prove it could be more cost-effective.
“On our path to 2.5 per cent, we have to make sure we deliver better value because the Treasury is not going to give us more money unless we become more efficient,” he said.