Readers are being asked whether they would accept higher taxes to fund an increase in UK defence spending, as Chancellor John Healey faces pressure over the government's military budget commitments.
Healey Under Pressure Over Defence Spending
John Healey may be forced to raise taxes as pressure mounts on the Chancellor to increase defence spending. Healey quit as defence secretary under Keir Starmer's government in June over a long-delayed military spending ban. In his resignation letter, he said the then prime minister had been "unable" and the Treasury "unwilling" to "commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats".
However, the now-Chancellor failed to outline a clear plan for meeting the UK's target of spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting denied "kicking the can down the road" on defence spending.
Delayed Plan and Tax Implications
Instead, Healey said he will hold off until next year's spending review before presenting a plan to meet Labour's pledge of devoting 3.5% of GDP to defence by 2035. A new report by the Resolution Foundation, Thin End of the Wedge, warns that he would struggle to raise the £28bn a year needed to fulfil the pledge without increasing taxes on average workers.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the Chancellor's proposal to review the issue next year, describing it as a "plan to have a plan". She said: "He should have set out a plan for 3% today. So now he is the man who is increasing risk to personnel on operations, he is the man who is making our country less safe, he has failed his own test."
NATO Spending Commitments
Badenoch added: "This is on him and no-one will ever forget. If he had any decency he would resign again today. What he's done is he's given himself a bit of breathing space until next year. Instead what we have is a plan to have a plan. I bet Putin's really scared now."
NATO members have agreed to spend 3.5% of GDP on core defence, with an additional 1.5% on broader defence and security-related investments such as protection of key infrastructure and resilience. Readers can vote in the poll on whether they would pay more tax to increase UK defence spending.
