No date for increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, says Treasury minister

Darren Jones said it will depend on the outcome of the strategic defence review, which is currently under way.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones was question about defence spending (Lucy North/PA) (PA Wire)

A Treasury minister has declined to say when the UK will spend 2.5% of its GDP on defence, as he also warned the pledge could come with public sector trade-offs.

Darren Jones refused to say on Sunday whether the Government will hit its target before the end of the current Parliament, due in 2029.

Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said it is “imperative that this Government starts signalling now” a pathway to meet the spending commitment.

Labour promised in its 2024 manifesto to “set out the path to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence” and Chancellor Rachel Reeves vowed in October’s Budget to do so “at a future fiscal event”.

She also announced a total increase to the Ministry of Defence’s budget of £2.9 billion next year so the UK “comfortably exceeds our Nato commitments”, and pledged military support to Ukraine of £3 billion per year “for as long as it takes” for Kyiv to repel Russian forces.

But the Government “didn’t set a date in the manifesto for two reasons”, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Mr Jones told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.

He said: “The first is that we needed to conduct a strategic defence review, which is happening at the moment and we’ll report in the spring.

“The second is because, of course as with all spending decisions, it has to be subject to wider fiscal considerations.

“In terms of where we are now – we’re spending 2.3% as a country, the size of the GDP on defence, there was a boost of about £3 billion from the Chancellor in the Budget last week, and John Healey the Defence Secretary and the reviewers will be reporting with their strategic defence review in the spring.”

Pressed on whether his Government will hit the target before 2029, Mr Jones replied: “I’m not going to give you a date today because it relies on the outcome of the strategic defence review which will decide what the spending priorities are.”

The minister had earlier told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “The question is how you spend that but defending the country is a non-negotiable. That is not a trade-off; the trade-off is then with other areas of public spending.

“Now, are we defending the country today? Absolutely we are. Do we want to make sure we’re hitting our Nato obligations? Absolutely we do.

“But the strategic defence review will start to answer some of the questions, which is beyond that – what more does the UK want to offer as part of our global alliances? That’s where you start.”

Dame Priti described “very insecure times” on the Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.

She said: “My party when we were last in government put a road map – very clear road map – about increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030. We were clear that that was essential.

“I know there’s a strategic defence review taking place now. I think it’s really important that we come together sooner rather than later to make sure that we are spending that amount, even more when it comes to defence, because just look at the state of the world.

“We are living in very insecure times geopolitically and we do need to step up.”

Dame Priti suggested the Government will need to make “political choices” rather than cuts to meet its defence spending pledge.

She said: “What I would say, I think it’s imperative that this Government starts signalling now – they’ve just had the Budget, they could have done more in that Budget to put the pathway forward for 2.5% of GDP on defence.

“I would urge them, through the defence review that is coming up – and the military chiefs will be working on that – that they find ways in which that money comes forward.”