Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged Chancellor John Healey to show how Britain would finance a 3% defense spending goal in the Oct. 28 Budget, intensifying a dispute over welfare cuts and borrowing.
In a Westminster speech on Oct. 20, Badenoch said Healey would have “an awful lot of explaining to do” if he did not identify the money. She called for lower welfare spending and less government borrowing to make room for defense.
The Conservatives propose reaching 3% of gross domestic product by 2030 through welfare changes and shifts in other public spending. Badenoch said Labour's increase in welfare spending was more than three times the extra defense funding needed to reach 3% of GDP. She also cited borrowing costs as a reason to limit new debt.
The government’s defense investment plan puts core NATO defense spending at 2.7% of GDP from 2027-28 onward. Britain has committed to spending at least 3.5% of GDP on core defense by 2035 under NATO’s target. The government has yet to set a date for the 3% step on that path.
The proposed welfare reductions have drawn opposition from Prime Minister Andy Burnham. In Parliament on Sept. 9, Burnham opposed a proposed £4 billion housing benefit cut, warning that it would leave families homeless. He said his government sought to lower welfare costs through council housing, education and mental health support.
The disagreement leaves two questions for the government: how much of a higher defense bill to cover by changing other spending, and when to commit to the 3% goal. Badenoch wants Healey to address the financing in the Budget. The government says it will set out the date and funding plan for reaching 3% at its next spending review.
The existing defense plan also identifies funding to be settled in the 2026 Budget. Healey is scheduled to present that Budget on Oct. 28.
