Starmer Warns of ‘Dangerous New Era’ as UK Increases Defence Spending, Cuts Aid

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer cites a “dangerous new era” as the reason for his decision to increase defense spending and reduce the aid budget.

During a news conference at Downing Street, he stated: “Putin’s aggression extends beyond Ukraine. Russian spy ships threaten our waters, their planes violate our airspace, and Russian cyber attacks target the NHS… we cannot ignore this reality.”

Earlier, Starmer informed Parliament that the UK plans to raise its defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027.

Defense spending currently accounts for 2.3% of GDP. According to Starmer, by 2027 this would result in an additional £13.4 billion annually allocated to defense. BBC Verify has reviewed his calculations here.

Starmer stated that as defense spending rises, aid spending would decrease from 0.5% to 0.3% of the national income.

Keir Starmer essentially admitted that this unexpected decision was largely influenced by the US president.

“The events of the last few weeks have hastened my decision regarding the timing of this announcement, and I intend to be very transparent about it,” he told reporters at Downing Street.

The next question is whether this will persuade Trump to align with Europe’s perspective, which advocates for Ukraine’s involvement in peace talks and focuses on preventing a victory for Russia.

Many in Westminster describe Trump as “unpredictable,” and determining whether this peace offering will influence the president is nearly impossible.

As previously reported, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth referred to it as a “significant move from a steadfast partner.”

Officials in Downing Street are hoping their plan receives a similarly positive response when they visit the White House on Thursday.

Keir Starmer referred to his announcement today as “the most significant ongoing boost in defense spending since the conclusion of the Cold War.”

We are unsure of the exact metric he is using for this, but government spending is typically measured as a percentage of the economy’s size, as indicated by Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, UK defense spending—measured using this particular metric—has been declining since the mid to late 1980s.

Although there have been some years with increases, these instances are isolated and cannot be regarded as “sustained” rises.