Labour’s defence review is full of contradictions. It paints a picture of a more dangerous world, with Britain facing “multiple, direct threats” to its security, particularly from nuclear-armed states such as Russia and China, and warns that the west’s “long-held military advantage is being eroded”.
But when it comes to spending taxpayers’ money, the exercise is considerably more cautious. The reviewers, a team of three led by the former Nato secretary general George Robertson, accept the spending envelope given to them by the prime minister, Keir Starmer: a gradual lift in defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and a looser promise to increase spending to 3% by the end of the next parliament.
