Keir Starmer is heading into this week’s NATO summit in Ankara with Washington already pressing allies to move faster on defence spending, putting Britain’s timetable under scrutiny before the prime minister leaves office.
Starmer is due in Turkey on Tuesday for what is expected to be his final major international summit. The trip follows the UK government’s defence investment plan, which added £15 billion for defence but sets a gradual path from 2.6% of GDP in 2027 to 2.7% by 2030, with an intended route to 3% in the next parliament.
NATO members agreed last year in The Hague to reach at least 3.5% of GDP on core defence by 2035, as part of a wider 5% target including defence and security-related spending.
Matt Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO, said some members were moving too slowly. “Some allies are doing more than others. Poland, the Nordic countries, the Baltic countries lead the way,” he said, reports The Guardian.
“But many others are lagging behind, and President Trump expects all allies to step up immediately and not only get on a sustainable path to the 5% but to get to 5% as soon as possible.”
The pressure lands as Labour prepares for a change at the top. Andy Burnham is widely expected to take over as prime minister later this month, leaving questions over whether the UK’s defence timetable will be revised.
Dan Jarvis, the new defence secretary, said Burnham would need to show the money behind Britain’s NATO promise. “What I absolutely will want to see is that in the next spending review we commit the resources to evidence the trajectory to 3.5%,” Jarvis said.
Jarvis said he had already been in contact with Burnham’s team about defence priorities. “I’ve known Andy for a very long time and I have not a shred of doubt that as prime minister he will make sure that we’ve got the resources that we need at a point of challenge,” he said.
