UK Conservatives Propose Major Defence Spending Boost Backed by Private Sector Funding
The UK Conservative Party has announced plans to reallocate £17bn from green energy and other government budgets to bolster defence spending. Central to the proposal is the creation of a Sovereign Defence Fund aimed at mobilising up to £50bn of private-sector capital to support UK defence initiatives.
The plan includes shifting £6bn from the government's research and development budget to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Additionally, the National Wealth Fund would be transformed into the National Defence and Resilience Bank, redirecting £11bn previously earmarked for ecological projects toward defence, with the remainder allocated to resilience sectors such as water and transport.
The government targets increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and 3.5% by 2035, while the Conservatives seek to reach 3% of GDP by the end of the decade. This significant uplift aims to support UK defence start-ups, reduce dependence on hostile states in supply chains, and enable cutting-edge technologies such as drones.
Labour has critiqued these figures as unrealistic, emphasizing its own record £270bn defence funding increase within the current Parliament.
Concerns remain over the UK's preparedness for defence challenges. MPs have warned that the country is not adequately prepared to defend itself. The Defence Committee has highlighted heavy reliance on the United States, while Defence Chief Knighton has noted that private defence investment remains sluggish and recruitment levels require improvement. Meanwhile, UK Defence Innovation operates with at least a £400m annual budget to support defence technology development.
Overall, the Conservatives' proposals mark a strategic shift in funding priorities, emphasizing increased defence expenditure supplemented by innovative financial mechanisms to strengthen UK security and technological capabilities.
