Defence Britain Agrees to Spending Target of 5% of GDP on Eve of Nato Summit

Britain has agreed to commit to spending 5% of its GDP on defence by 2035 following weeks of military and diplomatic pressure, as Keir Starmer prepares to join Nato leaders at a summit dominated by global conflict and expectations of European self-reliance.

- Aletha Adu

The UK's pledge aligns with Nato's new spending targets - but at a slower pace than key allies including Poland - after intense discussions between leaders over the rate of increase. Britain sought and secured a later date.

Military chiefs are expected to welcome the announcement, but officials acknowledged that the 5% total would combine traditional defence spending of 3.5% with a broader "whole of society" category worth 1.5% of GDP.

Some defence officials have privately warned that the headline figure risks conflating military capability with investment already budgeted for by the Treasury, and pointed out that the target would be hit only after the next election but one.

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, had faced weeks of internal lobbying from pro-defence Labour MPs and military figures to unlock a higher spending ceiling, amid warnings that Britain risked falling behind its Nato peers.