UK Warned of ‘Eye-Watering’ Cuts to Pay for Defence Plans

Key Points

• Former NATO chief Lord George Robertson warned the UK must slash public sector spending to fund defense pledges, causing “pain and great difficulty” for Labour
• Robertson stated there is “no money, no surplus money at all” to fund defense, requiring cuts to overseas development, net zero climate goals, and transport
• The UK needs an additional £36 billion annually to reach NATO’s 2035 target of 3.5% of GDP on defense, having spent only 2.4% last year
• Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told the BBC Starmer’s 3% defense spending pledge is “absolutely sacrosanct” and money “will be found”
• Robertson criticized “pacifistic” Labour members, stating “the only way to prevent war is by preparing for war”
• High interest costs rule out more borrowing for defense funding, though multilateral defense bank and war bonds remain options
• Robertson accused the public of being “too sanguine about the threat” and “too oblivious” to danger signs
• Labour MP Diane Abbott warned Robertson’s approach prioritizing “guns over butter” could lose Labour support to Greens

London (Britain Today News) June 9, 2026 — The United Kingdom will face “eye-watering” public sector cuts to fund defense pledges, with former NATO chief Lord George Robertson warning the ruling Labour Party of “pain and great difficulty” as it tries to meet military spending commitments.

What Does George Robertson Say About Defense Funding?

George Robertson — a former U.K. defence secretary who co-wrote Britain’s Strategic Defence Review and is now in the House of Lords — warned Labour MPs on Tuesday that Britain’s military spending promises and NATO commitments must “come from domestic budgets”. Speaking at the Defence Strategic Communications Conference in London, Robertson said there is “no other way” defense can be funded as there is “no money, no surplus money at all”.

How Much Money Does UK Need for NATO 2035 Target?

The U.K. would need an additional £36 billion a year to reach NATO’s new 2035 spending target of 3.5 percent of GDP on defense; it spent 2.4 percent of GDP on defense last year.

“When you consider that our total education budget is £95 billion, the Home Office budget is £20 billion, transport is £28 billion, and justice is £12 billion, you begin to realize that what we are committed to are eye-watering sums of money from the taxpayer in order to make the country safer than it is today, and to keep up with what NATO has said,”

he said.

What Does David Lammy Say About Defense Spending Pledge?

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told the BBC over the weekend that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s promise for defense spending to reach 3 percent of GDP was “absolutely sacrosanct,” and that money “will be found” for new equipment and infrastructure. He told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme:

“The money will be found, our commitment to 2.6% and then to three (is) absolutely sacrosanct under this Government”.

Why Does Robertson Criticize Starmer’s Defense Approach?

Robertson stressed that Starmer hasn’t come clean about the costs of reaching that spending level, saying those pledges drive

“logically and inevitably towards a conclusion that says: ‘And therefore we are going to spend money'”.

The prime minister is “not willing to make the necessary investment”, Robertson says:

“We cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget”.

What Areas Will Face Cuts to Fund Defense?

Robertson said this

“is going to cause a problem for many of the Labour MPs,”

he said, referencing needed cuts to overseas development, net zero climate goals and transport. The Times reported that Sir Keir Starmer will target net zero and transport as he looks for cuts to fund his flagship defence investment plan. U.K.’s high interest costs also rule out more borrowing, with Robertson saying

“that doesn’t seem to me to be the right way of doing it”.

What Does Robertson Say About Pacifist Labour Members?

Some Labour Party members who are “of a pacifistic nature” must be persuaded to accept that “the only way to prevent war is by preparing for war,” he said. Robertson added: “The public is still too sanguine about the threat, too comfortable in the way of life that we are leading at the present moment, and too oblivious to all of the signs that are actually there visibly in front of us, that we are in danger, and that we are under-prepared as well”.

How Did Diane Abbott Respond to Robertson’s Warning?

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told the BBC over the weekend that earlier on Tuesday, the notion that public spending reductions might be necessary to support defense initiatives led Labour MP Diane Abbott to accuse Robertson of prioritizing ‘guns over butter,’ warning that Labour could lose support to the Greens if Starmer adhered to Robertson’s guidance.

“We have already cut foreign aid, and to reduce welfare to fund arms is outrageous,”

she stated.

“People will start to question why they are voting Labour at all. This approach will not benefit us electorally”.

What Is the Government’s Current Defense Spending Plan?

The government has committed to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product on defence by 2027, increasing to 3% in the next parliament and a Nato-agreed target of 3.5% by 2035. The UK has committed to reach a defence spending target of 3% of gross domestic product when economic conditions allow, and 2.6% – which includes spending on the military as well as on security and intelligence – by 2027.
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What Warning Does Robertson Give About Public Complacency?

In his speech in Salisbury, Robertson said:

“We are underprepared. We are underinsured. We are under attack. We are not safe… Britain’s national security and safety is in peril”.

Having led Nato from 1999 to 2003, Lord Robertson will also say in his speech that “non-military experts in the Treasury” are causing “vandalism”. He will continue:

“There is a corrosive complacency today in Britain’s political leadership. Lip service is paid to the risks, the threats, the bright red signals of danger – but even a promised national conversation about defence can’t be started”.

What Alternative Funding Options Does Robertson Mention?

Robertson didn’t rule out the idea of a multilateral defense bank to provide low-cost defense loans as well as war bonds as ideas to help lessen the burden of defense spending. An MoD spokesman said the Government is providing a “generational increase” in defence spending, with an extra £270 billion across this Parliament. The spokesman said:

“The Defence Investment Plan will fix the outdated, overcommitted and underfunded programme we inherited”.

Why Does Robertson Say Defense Spending Must Increase?

The rising threat from Russia, the U.K. has no option but to increase defense spending, he warned.

“When the lights go out, when the hospitals close and the data centers melt without air conditioning, then the public will rightly say to all of us, all of us, why did you not do something before to sort this out?”

Robertson asked.

“And, if we’re attacked with cruise and ballistic missiles when deterrents fail, will we stand in the ruins of our cities and our homes and our schools, and proudly say, well, we protected the fiscal rules?”.

What Is the Strategic Defence Review Background?

Robertson, a member of the House of Lords and former NATO chief, has publicly conveyed his dissatisfaction with the government’s lack of a 10-year defense spending strategy since the SDR was unveiled last June. Robertson, who wrote the government’s Strategic Defence Review says,

“we cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget”.

The 10-year defence investment plan which was meant to be published in autumn last year to deliver the SDR’s plans has still not been produced.

What Does Robertson Say About Treasury Experts?

He accused politicians in the Treasury of ‘vandalism’ and stressed that ‘we cannot protect Britain with a continuously growing welfare budget’. In a detailed speech on Tuesday evening in Salisbury, Wiltshire, he criticized ‘non-military experts in the Treasury’ for committing ‘vandalism’.

What Is the Political Challenge Robertson Describes?

While the political challenge of boosting military budgets is enormous, dodging the issue isn’t an option, he said.

“When the lights go out, when the hospitals close and the data centers melt without air conditioning, then the public will rightly say to all of us, all of us, why did you not do something before to sort this out?”.

Defence spending last year stood at 2.3 per cent of GDP, roughly £66billion.