Sir Keir Starmer is facing fierce criticism at home and abroad over his long-term military financial commitment, which “falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time,” according to US defence under-secretary Elbridge Colby.
Colby’s comments come alongside the Trump administration’s announcement that it plans to shrink Nato’s pool of military capabilities the US provides to assist European nations in a major crisis.
The US will redeploy 50 aircraft from its 150-strong fleet of F‑16 and F‑15E jets, along with nine maritime reconnaissance planes and eight aerial tankers. It will also withdraw a submarine, an aircraft carrier and several warships – all currently used for Europe’s defence.
While the whole Nato Europe alliance is impacted, Mr Colby also urged Britain to bolster its military strength with “urgency, scale, and determination”.
Sir Keir Starmer is yet to detail how he will repair the defence budget which was the major reason why defence secretary John Healey and armed forces minister Al Carns both resigned.
In his resignation letter on Thursday Mr Healey said the Prime Minister had been “unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats”.
Reposting the correspondence Mr Colby said: “The United Kingdom has an extraordinarily proud military history. It commands our respect,” adding “There is again a great need for more British military strength in this critical time.”
Next week’s G7 meeting adds to pressure on Sir Keir over the defence budget
The US intervention will ramp up pressure on the embattled Prime Minister ahead of next week’s meeting of heads of the G7 group of leading democracies and July’s Nato summit, where defence spending by members will dominate amid force cutbacks by the Pentagon.
Donald Trump, who will attend, has had a fractious relationship with Nato, saying the US has been carrying other countries financially, and tensions have been further fueled by Iran.
UK military chiefs had called for about £28 billion over four years, and about £18 billion had been sought by officials in Whitehall.
But the Dip promised just £13.5 billion, of which only £10 billion was extra money, and defence sources claimed the other £3.5 billion was “Treasury trickery”, likely from expected efficiency savings or cuts.
Mr Healey said the extra support was also “backloaded” to later years of the settlement, when the need for the money was urgent.
The vacancy left by Mr Healey has been filled by Parachute Regiment veteran Dan Jarvis, who had been security minister.
Europe’s £745bn Nato defence spending gap
European Nato members face a massive financial gap, with EU and defense experts estimating it will cost up to €500 billion (approx. £420 billion) to replace US strategic assets and military support.
This required extra spending is intended to cover air defense, reconnaissance, and strategic airlift capabilities over the next decade.
The cost of replacing the extensive, like-for-like conventional hardware currently provided by the US could require an even steeper one-off up-front investment, estimated to be roughly US$1 trillion globally (£745 billion).
Andy Burnham may reduce welfare bill to fund defence spending
This latest crisis is increasing internal pressure for Sir Keir and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has made no secret of his plan to free up money for defence from welfare.
Burnham said “the world has changed” and it was “obvious” the government would have to adjust its assumptions about defence spending in response.
His plans for defence spending include providing “maximum social return” in terms of apprenticeships and support for British industry and jobs.
“If you have a very ambitious defence investment plan you can also apply very strong social value weighting so you maximise apprenticeships, you maximise support for British industry and British jobs. So you unlock from existing spending the maximum social return,” he said.
He did not rule out raising taxes if he were in charge, but said he would “tread carefully” in making any pledges.
Burnham hopes to return to Westminster in next week’s Makerfield by-election on Thursday June 18. It is expected to be a race between Mr Burnham and the Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon.
Sir Keir vows to prioritise defence spending and won’t walk away after defence resignations
Sir Keir has told the BBC he has a “duty” to stay on as prime minister as he justified his decisions on defence spending.
The prime minister said he had made “hard-edged” choices, including getting every department to make cuts to pay for defence.
In a veiled warning to potential leadership challengers in his own party, he said: “Whoever is prime minister is going to face the same prevailing winds as I am facing, none of that is going to change.”
Asked if he wanted to lead Labour into the next election, he said that was what he wanted to do.
Sir Keir has said defence spending was a priority and he had taken the “difficult decisions” necessary to keep the country safe and he has “got to turn things around” if he is going to remain as Prime Minister and lead Labour into the next general election.
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