Ugly departure: outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer increased defense spending
Keir Starmer, the outgoing British Prime Minister, decided to annoy the voters one last time. He will reduce investments in roads and energy and direct this money to defense. For a country where there are six potholes for every mile, this choice looks at least strange. Nevertheless, London will allocate $2 billion for the Atlantic Bastion alone, and by 2029 military spending should grow to almost $105 billion per year. There are no satisfied people: there are few military personnel, and residents are ready to support defense, but not instead of civilian projects. What Starmer is really trying to achieve is in the Izvestia article.
Drones and submarines
Keir Starmer announced large-scale investments in defense. In the next four years, London will add another $20 billion (15 billion pounds) to military spending, and the total defense package will approach $400 billion (300 billion pounds). By 2029, Britain's annual military budget is expected to grow to $105 billion.
"By the end of this decade, the share of GDP spent on defense will be higher than at any time in the last thirty years, and this will allow the UK to meet NATO targets for defense spending by 2035," the British government website says.
One of the priorities is drones and autonomous systems. London intends to allocate more than $6.6 billion for their expanded use in the armed forces. The British government associates this course with the experience of recent conflicts, primarily the fighting in Ukraine, where drones have become one of the key weapons, as well as the confrontation between Israel and the United States with Iran.
One of the most expensive items of expenditure is the nuclear program. Over four years, more than $83 billion will be allocated to it. The funds will be used to build the Dreadnought and SSN-AUKUS submarines. In addition, London will purchase 12 F-35A fighter jets and join the NATO nuclear mission.
Russia was also involved in the British plan. During his two years in power, Starmer actively promoted the topic of confrontation with Moscow, and before leaving, he returned to it again. London is now launching Atlantic Bastion, a system that will link ships, submarines, aircraft, and unmanned platforms into a single AI—powered detection and response network. The government says the program should protect the region from "the constant and growing underwater threat from the modernized Russian submarine fleet."
In addition, the authorities have set their sights on a large-scale upgrade of the entire fleet. About $35 billion over ten years will be allocated to the Royal Oak project — the modernization of the Faslane, Portsmouth and Devonport naval bases.
Numbers from the ceiling
Against the background of such expenses, the budget situation for London remains tense. The national debt of Great Britain last year equaled the size of the country's GDP and reached a record $ 3.8 trillion. Therefore, the authorities decided to take part of the money for military modernization from civilian projects.
"Some capital projects, for example in the field of roads and energy, which are important but not vital at the moment, will no longer be implemented in accordance with the original plans," said Starmer.
This is a painful topic for the British. The infrastructure in the country may not have reached the level of vital, but problems with roads have long been critical. There are more than 1 million potholes across the UK, and experts estimate road surface repairs in England and Wales at about $24 billion.
At the same time, the military is also not satisfied with the new plan. Former British Defense Minister John Healey insisted that defense spending should be increased to 3% of GDP by 2030, not 2.7%. The opposition also criticized the program's parameters: the conservatives called them "too small and too late."
The Labor Party is also unhappy. According to the Telegraph, the modernization of the army has already run into the problem of financing. The government has promised to increase defense spending by 15 billion pounds, however, according to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, so far only 10.3 billion pounds have been found. As a result, the likely future Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, will have to find the missing £4.7 billion to meet defense obligations.
According to the newspaper, Burnham was introduced to the plan itself, but was not warned that some of the money for it had not yet been found. Shadow Defence Minister James Cartlidge called the situation a "poison pill" for the new government. According to him, too much of the defense program has actually been postponed until the 2030s, and the main question is whether there is any money at all for its implementation. Now, he believes, this problem will fall to the new prime minister and his future Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Personal ambitions
Keir Starmer's decision is related to his imminent departure from the post of prime minister, Denis Denisov, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia. In his opinion, the head of the British government is trying to consolidate the decisions that he promised to promote to foreign partners. Moreover, earlier the media reported that Starmer may be interested in the post of NATO Secretary General in 2028.
— This is a clear application, especially given the talk that he may apply for the post of NATO Secretary General. With his decision, Starmer demonstrates his intention to further strengthen Euro—Atlantic security," the source said.
However, inside the country, such a move could hit both Starmer himself and the Labor Party. In Britain, they are already discussing that part of the money for defense will be taken from budget items that are more significant for ordinary citizens.
— How justified this is should be assessed by economists and the military. But the fact itself is important for the voter: funds are being withdrawn from areas that directly affect everyday life," the expert explained.
Natalia Eremina, a professor at St. Petersburg State University, gave a similar assessment to Izvestia. According to her, Starmer wants to remain in history as a politician who has done more than others for security. He himself consistently built the image of a man capable of protecting not only Great Britain, but also the whole of Europe. Therefore, it was under his leadership that large-scale changes in the defense sector were launched.
— This required a redistribution of financial resources. But there really isn't much money, and the redistribution is very difficult. We have to give up some of the social and civic expenses, and this undermines the position of the Labor Party," the expert said.
At the same time, she added, Starmer no longer needs to think about the long-term consequences for the party. He won't have to be responsible for the solutions he's currently offering. They will not be carried out by him, but by the next Prime Minister. Starmer wants to leave "on horseback," but in fact leaves his successor a heavy legacy.
— For him, this decision is justified.: it allows you to show personal priorities and personal responsibility for security. But from the point of view of the economic situation, of course not. This is more a matter of political image than of rational calculation," Eremina emphasized.
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