Sir Keir Starmer has found an extra £1bn to fund Britain’s defence following John Healey’s resignation over the issue, promising the long-delayed plan for future-proofing the armed forces will keep the UK “safe and secure long into the future”.
The Defence Investment Plan (DIP), originally due last year, has been held back amid furious wrangling within government over the amount of money required to finance the military.
The DIP will be published on Tuesday, just weeks before Andy Burnham is expected to take over as prime minister when he is widely expected to rip up the plan and try to find more money for defence, amid concerns that even the increased package does not go far enough.
Mr Burnham has previously said he will increase the country’s defence budget by cutting welfare spending.
Earlier this month, former defence secretary John Healey quit in protest over the DIP, arguing it did not provide enough funding for the UK to transform its armed forces and meet future threats.
He also warned that the plan would probably fall short of Britain’s commitments to the Nato alliance, which has tasked all member states with hiking core defence spending to 3.5 per cent of national economic output by 2035.
Mr Healey was replaced by Dan Jarvis, who is thought to have made better progress negotiating with the Treasury on funding, taking the full settlement to some £14.5bn – up from the £13.5bn offered to Mr Healey. However, the final package still falls well short of the £28bn defence officials previously said was needed.
Giving a speech at a defence firm on Tuesday, expected to be one of his final speeches in office, Sir Keir will set out how the DIP will accelerate Britain’s drone capabilities, as wars in both Ukraine and Iran have seen widespread use of the warfighting robots.
Speaking ahead of the launch, the prime minister said: “This game-changing investment will strengthen our armed forces on land, at sea and in the air, ensuring our servicemen and women have the cutting-edge capabilities they need to deter evolving threats and keep the British people safe.
“At the same time, we are backing British innovation, British industry and British jobs and delivering opportunity to every corner of the country.
“Today’s defence investment plan will help drive growth across the UK, giving our industrial base the confidence, certainty and support it needs to develop and scale the technologies that will keep our country safe and secure long into the future.”
Mr Jarvis has spent his two weeks in the job “refocusing” the Dip, Downing Street said, so that it will get the “latest kit” into the hands of the armed forces.
The defence secretary said: “Our armed forces are serving at an increasingly dangerous and unpredictable time. We are determined to give them what they need as they serve with courage and exceptional skill to keep us safe.
“The character of warfare is rapidly changing. In Ukraine and the Middle East, uncrewed systems are defining conflicts.
“This largest ever UK investment into these evolving technologies will help our armed forces stay ahead of our adversaries, backed by the best of our defence industry. We are giving our extraordinary people the equipment they need to fight and win.”
Britain has been closely watching the use of drones in the theatre of war in Ukraine, where some 200,000 are now used each month to defend against Russian forces, and in Iran, where around 700 drones were launched each day at the height of its war with the US and Israel.
In a signal of the pivot towards drone warfare, the MoD has already announced that a fleet of new destroyer warships will no longer appear in the DIP, and will instead be replaced by “hybrid” vessels which will act as command hubs for drones.
The DIP has become widely regarded as a legacy issue for Sir Keir, something he can achieve before he stands down as prime minister and makes way for his likely successor Andy Burnham.
However, Mr Burnham’s camp has left open the possibility that it could revisit the DIP, should he either win a contest, or be anointed as Labour leader and the next prime minister.
On Monday, in a speech laying out his economic prospectus for governing the country, the leadership challenger suggested he wanted to see British-based defence companies favoured in future military contracts.
Speaking in Manchester, he said: “From here on, every pound raised from taxpayers will work harder for them, and that approach will apply fully to the defence investment plan.
“We will make sure that all eligible public contracts are subject to proper social value weighting and we will do that to make sure British-based companies are in a better position to win those contracts.”
