Britain has finally grasped the nettle on defence, but tough choices lie ahead

Keir Starmer’s defence investment plan leaves behind spending problems that his successor will not be able to avoid. Military budgets will be well short of the UK’s Nato commitments by the end of the decade, and European allies and a combustible White House are likely to notice. Yet finding further cash for the profligate Ministry of Defence will require squeezing other departments, because raising taxes would be fraught and the headroom for extra borrowing is limited. Another option is to abandon Britain’s residual ambitions to be more than a regional power, though it is not one allies are keen for the UK to take. The complication is that the investment plan is trying to tackle several major problems at once. The post cold war peace ended more than four years ago with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, as the plan document drily notes, “the world has changed”, with the threat from Moscow heightened and the Middle East volatile. At the same time, Labour ministers are right to say their Conservative predecessors left behind a funding mess, while increasing commitments by extending support to Ukraine and signing up to develop nuclear-powered submarines with Australia and the US, and fighter jets with Japan and Italy. Dan Jarvis, the new defence secretary, said on Tuesday 47 out of 49 major projects were delayed or over budget. …