“Homes and hospitals be damned, the main thing is military spending”: Britain to increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035

UK Defense Secretary Wes Streeting told the British parliament that the country intends to bring defense spending up to 3.5% of GDP by 2035.

This was reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.

According to Streeting, the current government has already delivered “the most significant and sustained increase in defense spending since the Cold War.” The minister noted that since Labour came to power, defense investment has grown by £15 billion compared to figures from the last budget review.

“Over the next four years we will invest £298 billion. The share of defense spending in GDP has grown from 2.3% when Labour came to power just two years ago to 2.7% next year,” — Streeting said.

The minister also stated that the prime minister and chancellor are “fully committed” to fulfilling the NATO obligation to increase defense spending to 3.5% by 2035.

Justifying the priority of military spending over social needs, Streeting appealed to his previous experience heading the healthcare system.

“The public needs to understand why — in conditions of limited resources for households, businesses, and even the government — we are making an active political decision to increase defense spending. Because as someone who was responsible for hospitals and the National Health Service, I say with all due respect: schools, hospitals, homes — these matter. But they are worth nothing if they are reduced to rubble. Ukrainians have experienced this firsthand,” — the British minister concluded.