Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused outgoing prime minister Sir Keir Starmer of leaving a shortfall in the government’s defence investment plan, saying the package is effectively a “mess” for his anticipated successor, Andy Burnham. The long-awaited plan, published on Tuesday ahead of next week’s Nato summit, pledges a £15bn rise in defence spending by 2030 but – according to ministers – still needs an extra £4.7bn to be fully funded.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard told the BBC the additional money will have to be found in the autumn Budget by the next chancellor. The Treasury says it has identified about £10.3bn of savings to pay for the plan, leaving the remaining sum to be set out later. Badenoch argued the gap was closer to £5bn and asked in Prime Minister’s Questions whether the MP for Makerfield, widely expected to become prime minister on 20 July, had agreed to cover the shortfall.
Sir Keir rejected the criticism as “faux outrage”, pointing to past Conservative cuts to defence spending and defending his government’s commitments. He said the planned increase was made possible by fiscal “headroom” created in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget last November. The plan still falls well short of the roughly £28bn reportedly sought by defence chiefs and by former defence ministers John Healey and Al Carns, who resigned in protest.
Downing Street says further funding decisions will be confirmed in the autumn. If Burnham becomes prime minister he is widely expected to replace Reeves as chancellor, with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband tipped as a likely candidate for a senior cabinet role.
Alongside defence, ministers are identifying savings across departments to free up cash. The Transport department is expected to find about £700m by reprioritising roads projects, with schemes such as the A38 Derby Junctions and the A46 Newark Bypass under review and at risk of cancellation. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is said to be finding roughly £2bn through efficiency measures.
Downing Street could not provide a full list of potential cuts, saying more detail will come in the autumn Budget. Officials said transport is an obvious place to look because of its large capital budget, and they did not rule out impacts on rail projects. Frontline NHS services are to be protected, though commitment to new hospital projects beyond the initial wave and seven sites affected by dangerous RAAC construction remains less certain.
Plans to pause or drop road schemes have prompted a backlash from local leaders and MPs. Labour’s East Midlands mayor Claire Ward called the idea “completely unacceptable”. Newark’s Reform MP Robert Jenrick said he had demanded an urgent explanation, while Lincoln MP Hamish Falconer and Mid Derbyshire MP Jonathan Davies warned that uncertainty and cuts to transport spending could harm local communities and economic growth. A No.10 spokesman said the government’s priority is “Britain’s security in a more dangerous world.”