UK boosts military spending

Cuts welfare amid pressure on budget

- ESHE NELSON

The British government on Wednesday laid out plans for higher military spending and cuts to social benefits, as it sought to keep the nation's finances on track in what it called a "more uncertain world."

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor of the Exchequer, said the government would spend an extra $2.8 billion on defence in the fiscal year that begins next month.

Last month, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said military spending would rise to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027, which would be paid for by cutting overseas aid. On Wednesday, Ms Reeves reaffirmed military spending reductions to the benefits system, alongside a few other changes, that would save about $5 billion by 2030.

The changes come as President Donald Trump’s economic policies have threatened the global economy, putting more demands on the British government’s already stretched budget. Like many other European countries, Britain has pledged to spend more on defence to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. At the same time, the threat of a global trade war is lurking, and interest rates have increased, pushing up government borrowing costs.

“Our task is to secure Britain’s future in a world that is changing before our eyes,” Ms Reeves said in Parliament on Wednesday.

“This moment demands an active government,” she later added.