Royal Navy: Claim the government has 'hollowed out' armed forces despite pledge over defence spending

Rishi Sunak has committed to reaching 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, spending more than £75 billion more on defence over the next six years compared with current levels.

The commitment will be funded by slashing 72,000 civil service jobs, but economists have warned it will also require deep cuts in other areas of public spending - but not in the NHS or education budgets.

But Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan has said the pledge was in fact nothing new, and instead accused the government of more ‘broken promises’.

Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, the Prime Minister said: “The plan that I announced yesterday is fully funded. It’s funded rightly by a reduction in the civil service headcount back to 2019 levels… combined with an uplift in R&D spending.

“We are making a choice to prioritise defence. I think that’s the right thing because, whether we like it or not, the world is more dangerous than at any moment since the Cold War.

“It is a completely funded plan. We have got a very clear idea of how to reduce civil service headcount which has grown considerably over the last few years, and we can bring that back and use that to fund what I announced yesterday. And alongside that, continue to invest in public services and cut people’s taxes.”

Mr Sunak will use a summit marking the 75th anniversary of Nato to lobby allies to match his defence spending commitment. At the Washington DC summit in July, the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary Grant Shapps will argue that spending 2.5 per cent of GDP should be the benchmark for members of the alliance.

The current Nato target for defence spending is two per cent – although only 11 members of the alliance met that goal in 2023. The UK Government wants that benchmark to increase to 2.5 per cent, which would add £140 billion to the Nato budget if met by all 32 members. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said unprotected areas of public spending will now face cuts of around four per cent a year after 2025 to help meet the defence commitment.

“For decades, steady reductions in the amount spent on defence allowed for extra spending on things like the NHS without a need to increase taxes. In essence, we replaced a warfare state with a welfare state,” IFS economist Ben Zaranko said. “The challenge now is that we’re going to have to pay for both.”

The Tories hope the Prime Minister’s commitment will be a key dividing line with Labour at the general election. Labour has promised to conduct a strategic defence and security review in its first year in office to understand the resources required to meet the threats facing the UK, but has also committed to a 2.5 per cent target when finances allow.

But Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said the Conservatives ‘could not be trusted’ with defence spending - a key priority for many people in the naval city.

He said: "Over the last 14 years, the Conservatives have hollowed out our Armed Forces, created a recruitment crisis and cut the Army to its smallest size since Napoleon, while wasting over £15 billion in bad defence procurement.  

"Yesterday’s commitment made by the Prime Minister to hit 2.5 per cent on defence by 2030 was first made by Boris Johnson two years ago. Five budgets later, this has been proven as yet another broken promise made by this Conservative Government. 

"In Portsmouth we know more than most that strong defence is the bedrock of our national security, but it is clear the Tories cannot be trusted to deliver on the defence priorities of Portsmouth people.  

"Labour will bring forward a fully costed plan to hit 2.5 per cent on defence spending, with a ‘triple-lock’ commitment to the UK’s nuclear submarine programme, as well as commitments to deliver a local growth plan for areas with strong links to defence, such as Portsmouth."