Alex Ballinger defends defence spending as John Healey's 3% pledge questioned
Labour MP Alex Ballinger defended the government's defence spending record but would not say whether John Healey should resign if the 3% of GDP target is missed by 2030.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Labour MP Alex Ballinger has defended the government's defence spending record after being pressed repeatedly over the pledge to reach 3% of GDP by 2030. Ballinger, the MP for Halesowen and a former Royal Marine, was interviewed ahead of the Budget on 28 October.
The interviewer asked whether John Healey should resign if the 3% target is missed, saying Healey had resigned as defence secretary over the original timing of the commitment. The question was put several times. Ballinger did not give a direct yes or no. He said the government had a strong record and pointed to spending rising from 2.3% of GDP at the election to 2.7%, which he said was the largest share since the 1990s and more than the 2.5% achieved by the Conservatives.
He said threats from Russia meant more investment was needed. He cited new drones, anti-drone lasers and submersible unmanned vessels as examples of equipment being brought forward. He also said he expected the government to meet the NATO commitment of 3.5% by 2035, but said the route to that would not be set out until the spending review next year.
The interviewer challenged the timing, saying a spending review expected in the spring had been pushed to the autumn and accusing ministers of delay. Ballinger said it was important that money was identified before it was spent and that the bond markets were paying attention. He said there would be an answer at next year's spending review, and described the current increase as the biggest sustained rise since the end of the Cold War.
Later in the interview, Ballinger was asked about Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum. He said he agreed with the analysis that Russia had interfered.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Ballinger said defence spending had increased from 2.3% to 2.7% of GDP since the election, the highest share since the 1990s. | |
| Ballinger said he expected the government to meet NATO's 3.5% defence spending commitment by 2035. | |
| Ballinger said the route to the defence spending commitment would not be known until next year's spending review. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
GB News used the interview to press a Labour MP on accountability for the 3% defence pledge, repeatedly asking whether John Healey should resign if the 2030 target is missed. It framed the delayed spending review as dithering and highlighted Ballinger's background as a former Royal Marine. The segment also moved on to Russian interference in the Brexit referendum.
- “If John Healey doesn't get to that 3% of GDP on defence spending by 2030, because that was the initial commitment, it was that timing that he resigned over, then he too must resign, mustn't he?”
- “We've gone from 2.3% at the election to 2.7% and that's the largest amount we've spent as a proportion of our GDP on defence since the 90s.”
- “We should wait for the spending review. That's the normal way these things are announced.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.