Healey has yet to secure a definitive commitment to achieving 3 percent. Starmer’s spokesperson indicated this would be addressed “in the next parliament,” potentially extending to 2034.
A Delayed Issue
Politicians and defense experts argue this is insufficient to support the promises in the SDR.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defense secretary, stated: “All of Labour’s Strategic Defence Review promises will be viewed skeptically unless they can prove there’ll be enough funding for them.”
Helen Maguire, the Liberal Democrats’ defense spokesperson, cautioned the review “risks becoming a damp squib.”
Marion Messmer, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, remarked it was “surprising” that the U.K. would slightly increase defense spending, yet delay the commitment to 3 percent.
The timeline is crucial due to different assessments of how swiftly Russia might threaten NATO countries after the Ukraine war concludes. While the SDR doesn’t make its own assessment, it indicates: “Russia’s war economy, if sustained, will enable it to rebuild its land capabilities more quickly in the event of a ceasefire in Ukraine.”
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