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This week, Parliament wishes the PM good luck as he leaves for a meeting with President Trump to secure the future of Ukraine and Anglo-American cooperation. The Government also cuts development aid to fund defence and increase it to 2.5% of GDP.
Defence Spending
The government’s decision to boost defence spending to 2.5% by 2027 has been met with approval across parliament, earning praise from both the Tories and Liberal Democrats. Sir Ed Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, remarked “we strongly welcome the Prime Minister’s decision to increase Britain’s defence spending.”
Labour’s increase in defence spending is not unexpected. In July, Starmer pledged to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP in his manifesto. Previously, the government had not set out plans on how and when it was going to be achieved. There is currently a Strategic Defence Review aiming to “consider the threats Britain faces, the capabilities needed to meet them, the state of UK armed forces and the resources available.”
The money for the increase in defence spending is being taken from the development assistance budget. The Prime Minister said this was “it was not a decision that I took lightly or wanted to take, but it is important at this moment that we put defence spending and the defence and security of our country and Europe uppermost.”
The cut to aid has caused some opposition in Parliament. Mother of the House and long serving Labour MP Diane Abbott defied her leader arguing that “taking money from aid and development to spend on armaments and tanks makes people less safe, not more safe.”
Moreover, the Tories are interested in what the actual figures are. Badenoch questioned the government on the details, finding a discrepancy between the £13.4 Billion announced on Tuesday and just £6 Billion claimed by the Defence Secretary. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IMF) reviewed the figure who highlighted that £6 Billion will indeed be freed up for defence spending by cutting the aid budget. The IMF reasoned that “this figure only seems to make sense if one thinks the defence budget would otherwise have been frozen in cash terms.” Either way, both propose an immense investment into defence.
There has also been concerns from the Tories on whether the government will spend the money on the Chagos deal. Conservative MP Dr Kieran Mullan and Kemi Badenoch both asked that “he rule out funding any Chagos deal from the defence budget.” The Prime Minister assured that he would let Parliament decide if they agree with the deal over the Chagos islands when the time came. It is uncertain then how much funding could reach the actual military.
Let us not forget that 2.5% has been promised by former administrations before and not reached. In the last 5 years, consecutive Tory Prime Ministers have said they would increase spending. Johnson, Truss and Sunak all said they wanted to achieve at least 2.5%, yet none reached this aim. Can Starmer meet his promises where Prime Ministers from recent years have failed?
Ukraine and Trump
Much of the house wished the Prime Minister luck on his upcoming trip to the USA, with talks likely centring on Ukraine.
Kemi Badenoch wished the Prime Minister “every success on his trip to Washington.” Starmer thanked the house for its support and expressed, “There can be no negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
The Prime Ministers words come at an uncertain time. Trump’s return to the White House has shaken American support for the Ukrainian war effort. Trump promised that he would settle the war during his election campaign; the President seems to be determined to achieve peace at any cost.
Recently, the USA began talks with Russia without Ukraine present in Saudi Arabia. While the Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted that it was a just a meeting, Ukraine was not invited to the table at all. Outspoken Trump critic, Sir Ed Davey seems to have given up on Anglo-American unity. Davey lamented, “sadly, under President Trump, we will not be able to rely on the United States to help ensure our security against Russian aggression.”
Trump has also drawn up a deal where Ukraine would pay the US in minerals. Ukraine holds about 5% of rare earths reserves in the world. Currently, an American mineral deal is being discussed but details are not known to the public yet.
The Commons then asked the PM if he would “undertake to raise with President Trump the fact that Canada is a valued, respected and much-loved member of both NATO and our Commonwealth.” Starmer confirmed that he would. Canada has also been in the Presidents sights as he claimed that it should be the 51st state.
Edited by Elizabeth Strassheim
Image: Sir Keir Starmer MP, The Prime Minister (Holborn and St Pancras, Labour), by House of Commons via Flickr // CC BY 2.0
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