Rolls-Royce shares rise as Burnham pledges investment in British defence Politics Shares in London-listed defence firms including Rolls-Royce and Babcock rose on Thursday morning after Prime Minister-to-be Andy Burnham pledged to drive investment into Britain’s defence industry. The Makerfield MP said strengthening Britain’s defence will be his “first priority” if he enters Number 10 – as he is expected to later this month – but insisted [...]
Treasury minister: Meeting Nato defence pledge is Burnham’s job Politics The Treasury has not evaluated how the government could reach its pledge to spend 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product on defence by 2035, according to a cabinet minister, who said it was a job for the “next government” to carry out. Speaking to a parliamentary committee, chief secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby [...]
Government intervenes on foreign takeover bids for UK defence firms Industrials Ministers have intervened in a flurry of foreign takeover attempts on British defence firms in the past year over concerns the bids posed a threat to national security, City AM can reveal. The government unit that scrutinises takeovers “called in” 24 proposed bids from foreign buyers between the first quarter of 2025 and the end [...]
Starmer claims fiscal headroom can fill £5bn defence funding gap July 1, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has suggested the existing fiscal headroom can be used to fill a defence funding gap of around £1bn a year. During Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer accused the Conservatives of a “faux outrage” over complaints about £4.7bn out of £15bn being left for funding at the Budget this year. Starmer said that a [...]
Starmer stumps up half the amount demanded by defence chiefs June 30, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has coughed up just half of the amount of funding military officials requested in the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan. During a speech led by defence secretary Dan Jarvis, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the outgoing Prime Minister, ministers said they made the “right choices” and defended plans to back investment on drones and [...]
Rolls-Royce and BAE shares fired up on Starmer defence investment plan June 30, 2026 London-listed defence stocks including Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems shot higher on Tuesday as investors backed the main beneficiaries of Keir Starmer’s £15bn expansion in military spending. The outgoing prime minister unveiled the government’s long-awaited Defence Investment Plan in a speech in Berkshire. He appeared alongside the Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis. The [...]
As it happened: Stocks jump on defence and metals boost; Oil on track to shed a fifth on US-Iran peace hopes June 30, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil’s speed of decline has taken a hit this week as investors were forced to pause at the renewal of strike action between the US and Iran. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – was steadying above $73 per barrel, holding onto some of the [...]
Starmer to unveil hotly debated Defence Investment Plan in final act June 29, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer will unveil the highly-anticipated Defence Investment Plan in one of his final acts as Prime Minister. Starmer will publish full funding plans for the Defence Investment Plan (Dip), the government’s 10-year blueprint for armed forces, on Tuesday. He will say that more than £5bn over four years will be invested into drones, [...]
Healey condemns Reeves: ‘Our adversaries do not follow timetables set by the Treasury’ June 16, 2026 John Healey has delivered a stinging criticism of Rachel Reeves’ handling of defence spending, warning that the UK’s enemies “do not follow timetables set by the Treasury”. In his resignation speech in parliament, the former defence secretary took aim at Sir Keir Starmer and Reeves for failing to fully fund the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), [...]
Truth bomb: Defence secretary John Healey resigns over funding battles June 11, 2026 John Healey has resigned as defence secretary after months of tension with Sir Keir Starmer over funding for an uplift in spending on the armed forces. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Healey said the government’s draft for the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) “falls well short of what is required for defence and the [...]