The UK's long-awaited defence investment plan has unravelled within hours of its unveiling, as Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir Starmer of leaving a £5bn shortfall for his likely successor, Andy Burnham.
The plan, announced on Tuesday, promises £15bn in extra defence spending by 2030. But Defence Minister Luke Pollard told the BBC the next chancellor will need to find an additional £4.7bn in this autumn's Budget to fund the proposals – money the Treasury has yet to identify. Only £10.3bn in savings have been found, leaving almost a third of the plan unfunded.
“Kemi Badenoch attacks Keir Starmer over unfunded £5bn in defence plan, leaving Andy Burnham a 'mess'”
At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Badenoch pressed Starmer on the gap. “Even the limited plan he has announced has completely unravelled because he hasn't found the money to pay for it: it's £5bn short,” she said. “We all know he is leaving this mess to his successor, so can he confirm that the MP for Makerfield has agreed to fund the shortfall?”
Starmer dismissed the attack as “faux outrage” and hit back at the Conservatives for cutting defence spending when in power. “I'm proud of this Labour government and any Labour prime minister would stand beside this plan,” he said, attributing the spending increase to “headroom” built into last November's Budget by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
The plan itself, intended to ready UK forces for future conflicts, still falls £13bn short of the £28bn reportedly demanded by defence chiefs and prompted the resignations of former defence ministers John Healey and Al Carns in protest.
Burnham, who is widely expected to replace Reeves as chancellor if he becomes prime minister on 20 July, now faces a stark choice. Reeves herself has dismissed claims of a “black hole”, telling Channel 4 News it is normal to find such sums from her overall budget. “To be able to afford strong defence you've got to have a strong economy,” she said.
But with the plan already underfunded and the next Budget still months away, the question of who will pay – and where the cuts will fall – hangs over Burnham's expected premiership.