UK's Starmer Pledges to Accelerate Defense Spending

(MENAFN) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged Monday to accelerate the country's defense spending commitments, responding to reports that Downing Street is actively weighing a plan to raise its defense expenditure target to 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2029.

Media reported that Starmer stressed that Britain's defense posture hinges on "whether you coordinate and collaborate with other like-minded countries, particularly in Europe."

The announcement builds on a commitment made last year, when Britain confirmed it would raise annual defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027, with an ambition to reach the 3 percent threshold in the following parliament — widely expected to convene in 2029.

Over the weekend, Starmer used the high-profile platform of the Munich Security Conference in Germany to unveil a landmark military deployment, announcing that Britain would send a carrier strike group to the North Atlantic and the High North this year — a bold signal of renewed strategic assertiveness.

The prime minister further underscored Britain's geopolitical repositioning, declaring that the country is no longer the nation it was during the turbulent Brexit years — a pointed statement reflecting a broader effort to reassert London's influence on the world stage.

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