Spending on military housing is set to be delayed to fund Sir Keir Starmer’s defence investment plan (DIP).
The outgoing Prime Minister was asked about reports that a £9bn investment in accommodation had been pushed back to fund military projects such as drones as he unveiled his long-awaited defence budget.
Speaking this morning, Sir Keir failed to deny the claims, saying he had to balance the expenditure with funding improvements to military capability.
“We have put a lot of money into military housing and I am proud that we have, I’m very proud that we did that,” he said.
“Of course, I have to balance that against investment in the military capability that we need, but in relation to the money we have put into the housing, in relation to the pay awards we have already made, I’m proud that we made those.”
Some 40,000 homes used by Armed Forces families had been earmarked for refurbishment in the next decade. Around just 1,000 of the worst homes – some of which are infested with mould or have collapsing walls and leaky roofs – are currently being fixed.
The DIP will raise defence spending by just £15bn, with Sir Keir admitting that he has failed to meet his Nato target of spending 5 per cent of GDP on national security by 2035.
Earlier this month, John Healey resigned as defence secretary over the Prime Minister’s refusal to commit to spending 3 per cent of GDP by 2030.