Wes Streeting has cautioned that pledging to spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2030 without a clear funding strategy could result in Britain “paying a heavy price”. The Defence Secretary’s warning came as Prime Minister Andy Burnham prepared to unveil new investment for nuclear submarines.
Mr Streeting said he was committed to the UK’s overall goal and spending pledges to Nato, but declined to pre-empt future spending details. His comments followed Mr Burnham’s refusal on Wednesday to commit to the same 3% target by 2030, after a row over defence spending that dominated Sir Keir Starmer’s final weeks as premier.
Funding uncertainty and fiscal discipline
Under Sir Keir Starmer, the government committed to spending 3.5% of GDP by 2035 and expressed an ambition to reach 3% in the next Parliament. Former defence secretary John Healey, now Chancellor, resigned saying he was “certain” Britain should increase spending to 3% by 2030.
Mr Streeting told Sky News he supported Mr Healey’s resignation over defence funding, but added: “Let’s say, for argument’s sake, I just said ‘yes, we will by 2030 meet 3%’. The inevitable next question is how will you fund it? And the trap that I’ve seen so many previous, particularly Conservative, governments fall into is setting out what they would spend or the taxes they would cut, without at the same time, saying how they would pay for it. I’m sorry but that path leads to uncertainty, a loss of market confidence, a rise in borrowing costs, so we end up paying a heavy price if you don’t have that fiscal discipline of spelling out at the same time, not just what you will spend, or the taxes you would cut, but also how you would pay for it.”
Dreadnought submarine investment
On Thursday, Mr Burnham visited Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria to detail an already agreed £8.4 billion investment in the next generation of nuclear-armed submarines, the Dreadnought Class. The first vessel, HMS Dreadnought, is one of four submarines intended to replace the Vanguard class, which has operated Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent since the 1990s.
The latest funding represents the fourth phase of the replacement programme. Dreadnought is expected to enter service by the mid-2030s, when Vanguard will be retired.
Mr Burnham has framed the investment as part of his push to reindustrialise Britain and tackle youth unemployment. During the visit, he announced a new apprenticeship scheme to recruit and train young people in the north west of England, though the “trailblazer” is expected to produce only 30 apprentices over three years.
Jobs and apprenticeships
The government estimates that the Defence Nuclear Enterprise, the overall Dreadnought programme, supports 47,000 jobs and apprenticeships nationwide, a figure projected to rise to 65,000 by 2030.
Mr Burnham said: “Keeping this country safe is the first responsibility of any Government. But security is not only about what we build, it is about who builds it, and who benefits from it. The submarines produced in Barrow will protect Britain for decades to come, and the 47,000 jobs and apprenticeships will change lives both in this town and in dozens of places like it. British money, spent on British workers, British firms and British skills, in the places that were written off for 40 years. To every young person across the country, I want you to know that there is a path for you into a reindustrialised Britain and it starts with the apprenticeships we are funding through this investment today.”
