John Healey has accused the Conservatives of leaving Britain’s armed forces dangerously underfunded, while postponing detailed plans to increase defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP until next year’s spending review.
The Chancellor used his Budget speech to condemn 14 years of Conservative government, claiming they had “hollowed out and underfunded our military”.
Yet his own timetable for meeting Britain’s growing defence commitments remained a future promise, with a target of reaching 3 per cent of GDP in 2030 and a broader NATO commitment of 3.5 per cent by 2035.
Healey said the government would set out next year how it intended to meet those targets, leaving questions over the pace of the planned increase and how it would be financed.
The former defence secretary also announced £10bn in additional economic and military support for Ukraine, including £500mn in urgent military funding this winter. The wider package will draw on loans and export finance guarantees.
Speaking after another Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv, Healey said he and the Prime Minister had called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to explain the commitments.
“He told us — you’ve made my day,” Healey said, adding that Britain was sending Moscow a clear message: “Britain will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
The Chancellor sought to make defence spending a defining distinction between Labour and its Conservative predecessors, saying Britain’s military budget was £14bn higher this year than in the Conservatives’ final year in office.
He described equipping the armed forces as “the first duty of any government”, drawing on his experience as defence secretary and his personal connection to the military. His son, an Army reservist, had returned from training four years ago to report that troops lacked equipment and even ammunition to fire, he said.
The remarks underscored the political stakes surrounding Britain’s rearmament as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues and pressure mounts on European governments to strengthen their militaries.
But the gap between the government’s strategic ambitions and its immediate spending commitments remains significant. Healey presented Labour as reversing years of neglect, while leaving the precise route to its longer-term defence targets for next year’s review.
For a government promising both fiscal discipline and a stronger military, the challenge will be turning its pledges into sustained investment — and ensuring Britain’s armed forces have the equipment and resources to meet an increasingly demanding security environment.
Njy Rios, Partner at Ayming UK, said: “Healey has talked a big game on defence spending, so it would have been politically difficult to back down from the 3% target.
Defence tech has the potential to become one of the UK’s next great innovation success stories, much like fintech did, and has directly benefited from government investment. We already have world-leading capabilities in this sector, but continued innovation depends on businesses having the confidence that long-term government investment will be there to support growth and commercialisation.
“We also need greater clarity on where the money is actually going.
“The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the growing importance of drones, autonomous systems, AI and battlefield intelligence. The UK therefore needs to make sure increased defence budgets aren’t swallowed up entirely by traditional, large-scale procurement programmes. The government must ensure it creates meaningful opportunities for SMEs and disruptive technology businesses too.
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