The U.K. will increase its spending on domestic security to 5% of GDP by 2035, the Prime Minister is set to announce at today’s NATO Summit in The Netherlands.
The two-day meeting being held today (Tuesday) and tomorrow at the World Forum in The Hague marks the first time the Netherlands has hosted a NATO summit.
While U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer heads to The Hague, the Government is set to publish its National Security Strategy (NSS), hot on the heels of its Strategic Defence Review (SDR).
The PM has announced that the U.K. expects to spend 5% of GDP on national security by the parliament after next: by 2035 it predicts it will be spending 3.5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) on “core defence” — the traditional armed forces — and a further 1.5% on “resilience and security,” which will include areas such as energy security and protecting national borders.
By this definition, the U.K. expects defence spending to reach at least 4.1% of GDP in 2027, according to a MInistry of Defence (MoD) press statement.
It noted: “Faced by this reality in a world of increasing ‘grey zone’ threats, we cannot take a piecemeal approach that enhances the security of one part of our critical national infrastructure but leaves gaps elsewhere for our adversaries to exploit.
“This requires us to fortify in the round our economy, industry, digital communications and transport and energy networks against cyber-attacks and sabotage.”
The Prime Minister commented: “This is an opportunity to deepen our commitment to NATO and drive greater investment in the nation’s wider security and resilience.
“After all, economic security is national security, and through this strategy we will bring the whole of society with us, creating jobs, growth and wages for working people.”
Ahead of the conference NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte outlined his expectations for the summit, which will bring together heads of state and government from across the Alliance.
It is expected that this week NATO allies will approve a major new defence investment plan, raising the benchmark for defence investment across the alliance to 5% of GDP.
Mr Rutte has urged Allies to work with industry to expand their defence industrial base, warning “there is not nearly enough supply to meet our increased demand on either side of the Atlantic.” He added: “By investing more and producing more, we build a stronger NATO.”
- You can read more details on the U.K. Ministry of Defence website and the NATO website
