Wes Streeting has said increased defence spending would make \u201can enormous contribution\u201d to economic growth as he emphasised that the military will be a spending priority for Andy Burnham\u2019s government over other departments.<\/p>\n
The new defence secretary, in a speech at the Farnborough airshow, did not make any extra financial commitments but promised he would give the arms industry \u201cclarity and confidence\u201d in contrast to the row that contributed to the fall of Keir Starmer.<\/p>\n
Spending more on defence would come at \u201can opportunity cost across government\u201d, Streeting said in a subsequent briefing, meaning the Ministry of Defence<\/a> had to show \u201cwe are spending existing resources wisely\u201d.<\/p>\n He also criticised Israel for having \u201cfallen short\u201d in its conduct during the war in Gaza and in its operations in the West Bank. Streeting said defence was the portfolio he wanted on his return to government after he resigned as health secretary in May.<\/p>\n Burnham recommitted the UK to lifting defence spending from 2.6% of gross domestic product to the Nato target of 3.5% by 2035 in his first speech as prime minister on Monday, implying a real-terms increase of more than \u00a325bn in less than a decade.<\/p>\n In a video address played before Streeting\u2019s speech, Burnham said military spending would help reindustrialise the UK. \u201cWe are going to honour our commitments on defence and use that investment to transform people\u2019s lives,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n UK defence spending was last at 3.5% of GDP in the early 1990s, in the immediate aftermath of the cold war. A combination of renewed Russian aggression, concern about China and pressure from the US on European Nato countries has led to a rethink.<\/p>\n Expectations that the UK would meet spending obligations originally demanded from all Nato allies by Donald Trump have been increased further by Burnham\u2019s appointment of the former defence secretary John Healey as chancellor<\/a>.<\/p>\n The appointment suggests No 10 and the Treasury are strongly aligned with the MoD in wanting to rebalance the UK economy towards defence, a notable shift from traditional Labour<\/a> priorities of favouring spending on health and education.<\/p>\n Healey quit Starmer\u2019s government last month after a protracted row over defence spending, complaining that the then prime minister would not agree to a credible trajectory towards the 3.5% target by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n In his resignation letter, Healey said the UK must set \u201ca headmark date for 3% of GDP on defence in 2030\u201d. Starmer, he complained, had only been willing to offer 2.7% that year, despite saying publicly that defence spending was a priority.<\/p>\n Healey\u2019s surprise appointment to the Treasury has raised the question of whether Labour would be willing to reopen spending reviews agreed under Starmer and commit to what would amount to \u00a39bn a year more on by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n Streeting dodged questions on whether Labour\u2019s new leadership team wanted to hit 3% by 2030. \u201cIt\u2019s not for me to write the chancellor\u2019s budget or the next spending review, but he\u2019s very clear about where he stands on defence investment, as am I,\u201d the defence secretary said in his briefing.<\/p>\n No 10 and Healey have been similarly careful this week. On Tuesday, the prime minister\u2019s official spokesperson would only repeat that the UK would honour its commitments while promising more on defence in due course.<\/p>\n None of the typical caution about future spending has dampened the sense that defence is a top priority. \u201cWhat an opportunity we have under this prime minister and this chancellor,\u201d Streeting told a packed auditorium.<\/p>\n The two men understood, Streeting said, \u201cthe enormous contribution that defence can make to the prime minister\u2019s vision for this country, in terms of jobs, growth in every postcode and reindustrialisation\u201d.<\/p>\n At Farnborough, he unveiled the first British prototype \u201cloyal wingman\u201d drone, designed and assembled by BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire. A mini jet costing about \u00a315m, the drone is intended to fly as part of a group around a controlling Typhoon fighter, increasing reconnaissance and military capability.<\/p>\n Critics say military spending is an inefficient way to create jobs relative to other forms of state spending. Infrastructure spending cuts to pay for last month\u2019s defence investment plan could cost the UK 10,000 jobs<\/a>, according to one thinktank. Another study concluded investing in health created more jobs<\/a> and growth per pound spent than investing in defence.<\/p>\n