Streeting still refuses 3% defence by 2030 commitment as Chancellor sets path

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has refused to commit to spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030, saying the Chancellor must first set out how the money would be paid for.

In a round of broadcast interviews, Streeting was pressed repeatedly on the target set out by his predecessor, John Healey, who resigned over defence spending and later became Chancellor. Streeting said hitting 3% by 2030 was his view and John Healey's position, but he would not be categorical ahead of the Budget and next year's spending review. He said the Chancellor would set out the path to 3.5% of GDP, the commitment made to NATO for 2035, including when the UK would reach 3%.

Streeting argued that a spending pledge without a funding plan would be risky. He said the UK's debt to GDP ratio is at historically high levels and about one in every 10 pounds of taxpayers' money is spent on servicing debt interest. If the Chancellor promised 3% in 2030 without showing how it would be paid for, he said, markets would price in that risk and borrowing costs would rise, making more defence spending harder. He pointed to progress from 2.3% of GDP when Labour took office to 2.7% next year, and said the Government had committed to a sustained increase.

In a separate interview, Streeting was challenged over whether he should resign if the Government did not reach 3%. He dismissed the suggestion, saying the Government is increasing defence spending and telling his interviewer to hold off drafting his P45. He also rejected the idea that the 2030 target had been abandoned, saying the 3.5% commitment is a NATO target for 2035 and the Chancellor will set out a credible path, including when 3% will be reached, at the spending review. Asked about reports that the spending review could be delayed, he said no date had been announced. He was also told that published figures show NATO defence spending of 2.6% this year rising to 2.7% over the next three years. He said spending would not stop at 2.7% and that choices beyond 2027 were for the Chancellor.

In his first appearance before the Commons Defence Committee, Streeting set out his priorities. He said NATO's warning that allies must be able to fight and win a war by 2030 was not because NATO wanted conflict, but because Russia is testing the UK and its allies every day. He described so-called hybrid threats as acts of sabotage, targeted assassinations and state-backed terrorism. He said the UK needed to strengthen its capability, its defence industrial base and its alliances, and to focus on warfighting readiness. He also said he wanted to bring a stronger focus on value for money, productivity and procurement, and argued the Ministry of Defence could act as a ministry for growth and opportunity.

The exchanges leave the Government still short of a firm date for hitting 3% of GDP on defence, with the decision now pushed to the Budget and next year's spending review.