Britain on Tuesday announced a landmark increase in military spending, seeking to send a powerful signal about burden sharing to President Trump before Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets him at the White House on Thursday.
Speaking to Parliament, Mr. Starmer said Britain would raise its military spending to 2.5 percent of gross domestic value by 2027, and to 3 percent by the end of the next government’s term, which would mean by 2034 at the latest. Britain, he said, would finance the massive new expenditure by scaling back spending on development.
The Labour government had previously promised to raise expenditure to 2.5 percent of economic output, from a current level of 2.3 percent, but had not given a date by which it would do so. The move would amount to an increase in expenditure of 13.4 billion pounds ($17 billion) a year on defense between now and 2027.
“We must change our national security posture because a generational challenge demands a generational response,” Mr. Starmer said.
