Defence spending to rise to 2.5 per cent by 2027 via aid cuts, Starmer confirms February 25, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has announced the “biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War” as he confirmed the UK would spend 2.5 per cent of GDP [gross domestic product] by 2027. The Prime Minister unveiled the policy in a statement to the House of Commons after reports he was set [...]
Ukraine: Russia ‘does not hold all the cards’, Starmer tells Kyiv conference February 24, 2025 Keir Starmer has insisted “Russia does not hold all the cards in this war” to a conference in Kyiv to mark the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Prime Minister has promised further “sweeping sanctions” to push the Russian president towards concessions in peace talks and called for a US backstop [...]
War, what is it good for? The defence industry February 24, 2025 The government has announced some of the ministry of defence in over 50 years, and there is one important element which should be firmly on the radar of business, says Eliot Wilson Last week the defence secretary, John Healey, gave a speech at the Institute for Government (IfG) on “reforming UK defence”. What would normally [...]
Defence spending: 2.5 per cent of GDP is ‘ambitious,’ minister says February 23, 2025 Raising UK defence spending to 2.5 per cent of national income is “ambitious”, a cabinet minister has insisted as the government faces pressure to increase investment. It comes amid uncertainty over the future of the war in Ukraine, as the US began negotiations with Russia, excluding Kyiv from talks. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson sought to [...]
Starmer to set date to increase defence spending during Trump visit – report February 23, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer is expected to confirm a timeline to raise defence spending and give Donald Trump an invitation for a state visit when he visits Washington next week, per a report. The Prime Minister will have to walk a tricky line when he meets President Trump, balancing the UK’s support for Ukraine with the [...]
NATO members will ‘fight together’ if needed, defence secretary says February 20, 2025 NATO member states will “fight together” if needed, the UK’s defence secretary has pledged during a visit to Norway. John Healey told a press conference with his Norwegian counterpart Tore Sandvik that Russian leader Vladimir Putin “wants to divide NATO” and “wants to divide Europe” as he warned that a ceasefire in Ukraine “must not [...]
Healey urges ‘maximum pressure’ on Putin, as Trump blames war on Ukraine February 19, 2025 The defence secretary John Healey has warned that forgetting about the war in Ukraine while talks take place between the US and Russia risks “jeopardising the peace”. It came as Healey countered US President Donald Trump’s claim that Kyiv started the conflict amid a visit to Norway, near its border with Russia. The cabinet minister [...]
Rolls-Royce signs £9bn submarines deal to create 1,000 jobs January 24, 2025 Rolls-Royce has signed a £9bn submarines deal which will create 1,000 jobs and is the biggest UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) contract in its history. The eight-year Unity contract covers research and technology, design, manufacture and in-service support of the nuclear reactors that power the Royal Navy’s fleet of submarines. The Derby-headquartered FTSE 100 giant [...]
‘Unsustainable’ sickness benefits cost UK more than defence, Lords warn January 20, 2025 The UK is spending more on “financially unsustainable” sickness benefits than defence, and “urgent” reform to the welfare system is needed to rein in costs, a group of Lords has said. In a letter to the work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, the cross-party Lords Economic Affairs committee said the current benefits system penalises people [...]
‘Trump is right’: Lammy says defence spending must rise January 9, 2025 With Russia on the march and the end of post-Cold War peace, David Lammy has argued that Europe’s defence spending must rise. The foreign secretary said for the UK to be “taken seriously… we must put our money where our mouth is” in his first major speech of 2025. Lammy told an audience of diplomats [...]