Combative Wes Streeting refuses to outline Royal Navy, Army and RAF spending goal due to fiscal 'trap'

A fiery Wes Streeting has refused to guarantee the government will meet a critical defence spending target.

The new defence secretary failed to commit to spending three per cent of GDP on the armed forces by 2030. One of his predecessors John Healey, the current chancellor, resigned under the Sir Keir Starmer Labour government due to a lack of spending power in the Defence Investment Plan (Dip).

Mr Streeting said while he was committed to the overall goal and spending pledges made to Nato, he did not want to pre-empt future spending details. The UK has previously committed to meeting Nato’s defence spending target of 3.5 per cent of GDP by 2035, though there is no clear timeline on how they’ll get there.

Mr Streeting told Sky News: “Let’s say, for argument’s sake, I just said ‘yes, we will by 2030 meet three per cent’. The inevitable next question is how will you fund it?

“The trap that I’ve seen so many previous, particularly Conservative, governments fall into is setting out what they would spend or the taxes they would cut, without at the same time, saying how they would pay for it.

“I’m sorry but that path leads to uncertainty, a loss of market confidence, a rise in borrowing costs, so we end up paying a heavy price if you don’t have that fiscal discipline of spelling out at the same time, not just what you will spend, or the taxes you would cut, but also how you would pay for it.”

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The Labour MP for Ilford North added that he agreed with Mr Healey’s decision to resign under the former prime minister. Mr Streeting has already claimed he’ll walk out the door if the Dip isn’t properly funded, with the government needing to plug a £4.7bn gap.

During a visit to HMNB Portsmouth on Monday (July 27), new prime minister Andy Burnham said defence spending is a “top priority”. “I’ve said that I will fully fund the Defence Investment Plan,” he told reporters.

“My duty to those who serve our country is to make sure they have the kit they need, that it’s up to date, and I will honour the commitments there. Looking to the future, we will honour our commitments of 3.5 per cent by 2035. We will build trust with our international partners by showing them that Britain will meet those commitments.”