General Lord Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British army, has stated that Labour leader Keir Starmer faces potential failure and irrelevance if he does not elevate the defence budget. Current plans to maintain spending at 2.5% of GDP are deemed insufficient by military leaders. Dannatt emphasizes that defence must take precedence over other priorities like health and education. The context includes discussions of NATO spending pressures, especially from the US, indicating a growing urgency in increasing the UK's military budget to meet international expectations.
Unless Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves can look at themselves in the mirror and say that defence is more important than health, education, and infrastructure, they risk a hollow strategic review.
The US president Donald Trump criticized NATO countries for their defence spending, suggesting a 5% GDP threshold, prompting the UK defence secretary John Healey to recognize the need for increased spending.
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