UK government to unveil defense plan despite Starmer's resignation
Kyiv • UNN
The UK government will unveil a defense investment plan ahead of the NATO summit on July 7, despite Prime Minister Starmer's resignation. The plan has already triggered ministerial resignations due to disputes over insufficient funding.
The UK government intends to publish a long-awaited defense investment plan ahead of the NATO summit, which will take place on July 7 in Turkey, despite the announced resignation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. This was reported by the BBC, writes UNN.
Details
A Downing Street spokesperson stated that during the change of head of government, no new major political decisions or decisions on public spending will be made. At the same time, the preparation of the defense plan will continue according to the previously approved schedule.
Earlier, Starmer announced his intention to step down as leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister after the election of a successor.
The defense plan has already caused resignations in the government
Plans for defense spending have become a subject of dispute within the government and have already led to the resignation of two defense ministers.
Former Defense Minister John Healey previously stated that the planned increase in spending to 2.68% of GDP does not meet the country's needs and is insufficient to achieve the 3% target.
According to the BBC, the Ministry of Defense requested an additional £28 billion by the end of the decade, but may have preliminarily received only about £10 billion.
NATO expects concrete commitments from allies
New Defense Minister Dan Jarvis stated that his main priority remains completing work on the defense investment plan.
There will be no changes in the urgent need to develop a defense investment plan
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that he expects all Alliance members to present clear and convincing plans for increasing defense spending.
The UK previously committed to increasing defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035. According to Jarvis, the government intends to fulfill this promise regardless of the future change of Prime Minister.
UK-EU summit postponed after Starmer's resignation23.06.26, 00:55 • 4148 views