SIR Keir Starmer today announced a £13 BILLION increase in defence spending by slashing hated foreign aid cash.
The PM laid out a plan to raise the military budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP within two years – and then to 3 per cent after the next election.
Sir Keir Starmer will today vow to slash Britain’s aid budget in order to hike defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP[/caption]
The PM said he will tell Donald Trump he wants the special relationship to “go from strength to strength”[/caption]
The announcement comes a day before Sir Keir flies to Washington DC for a crunch meeting with US President Donald Trump[/caption]
Defence spending will rise to 2.5 per cent, an additional £13bn a year for the armed forces.
And by the next parliament in 2030 Britain will hit 3 per cent of GDP on military.
Hated aid spending will be cut from 0.5 per cent of GDP to 0.3 per cent.
It comes just a day before Sir Keir jets off to Washington DC for a showdown meeting with Donald Trump.
READ MORE POLITICS
The US President has demanded Western leaders drastically increase their defence budgets rather than relying on America.
In an historic statement to a packed out Commos, the PM said: “I know this House will endorse the idea of achieving peace through strength.
“Russia is a menace in our waters, in our airspace and on our streets.
“Instability in Europe will always wash up on our shores. Tyrants like Putin only respond to strength.”
Sir Keir added: “We must stand by Ukraine.
“If we do not achieve a lasting peace then the economic instability, the threats to our security, will only grow.”
On Sunday Britain will convene a meeting of European leaders for further talks on Ukraine and bolstering armies across the continent in light of Trump’s foreign policy shift.
Sir Keir had already pledged to raise military spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP but had refused to lay out a timetable to hit the target before the election.
Mounting calls from Mr Trump, NATO leaders, military top brass and the Tories to reach the target have been growing in recent weeks.
A renewed urgency also comes from peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, where Sir Keir has committed to put British boots on the ground.
Sir Keir’s announcement this afternoon sparked turmoil among swathes of Labour MPs.
Furious party members and backbenchers desperately fired off messages to whips and ministers in a bid to block the popular decision.
The Sun understands some lefty low-level members of the government are considering resigning in anger at the move.
He has, however, dismissed demands from senior officers to hike defence spending to as much as 2.65 per cent of GDP – a move that would cost an extra £10bn.
Cabinet departments have been bracing for deep spending cuts in order to fund the massive armed forces cash injection.
ANALYSIS
By Jack Elsom, Chief Political Correspondent
AS is so often the case for prime ministers, Sir Keir Starmer is being buffeted by global events outside his control.
Today’s uplift in defence spending has been brought about just as much by the man in the White House as it has the man in No10.
Donald Trump’s demands for European leaders to hike their military budgets and cease free-riding off America has jolted allies into action.
Yes, Sir Keir has long promised to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP – but the new US administration has created a fresh sense of urgency.
Now he has something to sell to the notoriously transactional Trump when he heads to Washington this week.
And many will delighted that Labour is taking an axe to our foreign aid spending to pay for the armed forces cash boost.
The Sun recently revealed the millions being frittered on ludicrious overseas projects, like studying shrimp health in Bangladesh or gifting electric cars to Albanian jails.
It is also a shrewd political move from the PM – poll after poll shows voters favour slashing foreign aid spending.
Some will say it is “too little too late”, but now Sir Keir has some real ammunition to answer his critics.
Responding to the PM’s announcement, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “I welcome his announcement on repurposing money from the overseas development budget, that is absolutely right.
“Having said that, can the prime minister say in confidence that the 2.5% by 2027 is sufficient? Because we need to look at exactly how he funds it.
“He must not raise taxes further, as it will destroy our economy.
“We need a strong economy to pay for strong defence. He cannot borrow more.”
Urging the PM to ditch the Chagos handover deal, she added: “Does he agree that the first thing that must be looked at is spending billions of taxpayer money leasing back a defence base on Diego Garcia that we currently own?
“Why is the prime minister still pursuing this deal? Earlier today, I made a speech about the realism that should drive our foreign policy.
“As part of this, the Prime Minister must scrap his disastrous plan to surrender the Chagos islands and have British taxpayers pay for it.”
Labour has commissioned two retired generals to carry out a Strategic Defence Review.
The party previously said it will wait until Spring before setting out a pathway to 2.5 per cent.
But ahead of meeting Trump, the PM has been pushed into forming a plan early.
UK wastes BILLIONS on crazy foreign projects
Earlier this month The Sun revealed how British taxes are being squandered on shrimp farms in Bangladesh, poetry workshops in Colombian jails and gender lectures in Kenya.
UK workers also fund diversity training in the Jordanian army and cyber security for India — while pressure mounts to raise our military budget and millions wait for an NHS appointment.
Britain spends around £15billion per year on overseas aid, £9billion of which is by the Foreign Office.
A recent US crackdown on its scandalous state waste has sparked demands for a UK version.
President Donald Trump hired billionaire Elon Musk to head up a Department of Government Efficiency and it has wasted no time shuttering aid, green and diversity, equity and inclusion projects at the stroke of a pen.
Among the worst cases, the past three years have seen the UK hand more than £133,000 to Bangladesh Agricultural University to study shrimp health.
The most recent £59,000 payment from taxpayer-bankrolled quango the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture was made in September.
Taxpayers are also funding woke ideology around the war-torn Third World.
In January 2024 the Science Department paid £233,000 to “identifying barriers to mental healthcare for civilians affected by armed conflict in Colombia”.
Last December the Foreign Office paid a contractor £9.5million to support “accountability and inclusion” in war-ravaged Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The department also funded a £110,000 conference on “preventing gender-based disinformation” in Kenya, and £473,070 for a Criminal Justice Adviser in Somalia.
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