Defence spending to rise by 2.5% of GDP

Michelle with a member of the Army

This week the Prime Minister announced the biggest strengthening of our national defence in a generation, with a fully funded plan to grow the defence budget to 2.5% of GDP by 2030. 

With the war in Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East - the world is increasingly becoming more and more dangerous. An axis of authoritarian states such as Russia, Iran, North Korea and China are increasingly working together to try and reshape the world order.

On the doorstep, at my regular surgeries and 'Meet Michelle' events, constituents have raised their concerns with me about the amount we currently spend on defence. 

I have been feeding these views back and the Prime Minister has announced that defence spending will go up 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 and will reach 𝟐.𝟓% of GDP by the end of the decade. This is only possible because we are sticking to our plan for the economy. I believe that now is the time to spend more money on defence. It is vital that we continue to back our heroic armed forces and give them the tools they need to get on with the job of keeping us all safe at home. 

This will confirm our place as the biggest defence power in Europe and second only to the US in NATO. Our extra £75 billion investment over the next six years will help to provide safety and security for the British people

This is also great news for Wiltshire and our local economy as local businesses will now be able to plan for the future through brand new long-term multi-year contracts. 

Please do share your views with me on our hiking of defence spending by completing the survey below. 

Defence Survey

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Do you support the Prime Minister's announcement to increase defence spending to 2.5% by 2030 - an extra £75 billion over the next six years?
The Prime Minister has announced the largest defence package in a generation. An axis of autocratic states like Russia, Iran and China are increasingly working together to undermine democracies and reshape the world order. Which is why we are increasing defence spending immediately – which will reach £87 billion at the end the decade – hitting 2.5% of GDP by 2030. 
Do you support my belief that it is critical that we give our armed forces the tools they need to get on with the job?
With the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, the world is the most dangerous it has been since the end of the Cold War and we can not be complacent. As our adversaries are working together, we also need to do more to defence our country and keep our people safe.
Do you support our plan to back our veterans?
We have placed looking after our veterans at the front and centre of all we do across government. Through OP PROSPER we have launched a wraparound employment service to support veterans into work after they leave the Armed Services. While we are getting on and delivering for our heroic veterans – the Labour party simply has no credible plan.