Britain’s defence spending is being left in the dust by hostile countries such as Russia, Iran and China, new research has revealed.
Since 2014, Britain’s three most dangerous enemies have increased their military budgets by an average of 50%.
This is over three times the level of the UK, which has seen multiple government fail to priorities the Ministry of Defence budget despite an increasingly volatile and dangerous world.
Research from the House of Commons library, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, found that Russia has increased its spend by a staggering 34% since 2014, largely fuelled by the Ukraine war.
In the last year alone, President Putin spend $109 billion on defence, almost 6% of Russia’s entire GDP.
Iran has increased its spending by 57%, while China is up a whopping 60%.
Between the three destabilising countries, they have spent a total of $318 billion since 2014, while Russia’s $109 billion splurge is 3.1 times higher than the UK.
In the same period, Britain has spent just $35 billion on defence, despite repeated warnings it is not enough.
While the Labour government has said they are committed to achieving 2.5% of GDP on defence spending, they have refused to put a timetable on when that target will be achieved.
Increasing Britain’s current spend to that figure would cost around £30 billion, with Labour waiting on the findings of the forthcoming Strategic Defence Review before setting out plans.
Reacting to the House of Commons library findings, the LibDems’ defence spokesman Helen Maguire said: “With war waging on our continent, hostile states increasing their defence spending and an unreliable partner elected across the Atlantic, it is vitally important for Britain’s defences to be strengthened.”
“The previous Conservative Government neglected our armed forces and left our Army at its smallest size since the era of Napoleon.
“The new Government must set out the pathway to 2.5% of defence spending, and they should do so prior to Donald Trump’s inauguration on 20 January. It’s time for the UK to lead in Europe when it comes to the defence of our continent.”
Last night Britain’s military received yet another blow after it emerged that more than 10,000 of the country’s serving armed forces are “not medically deployable”.
In a written Commons answer, defence minister Alistair Carns revealed that of the UK’s 99,560 service members, 14,350 have ‘limited deployability’, and a further 13,522 are not deployable for medical reasons.
An MoD spokesperson said: “The vast majority of our service personnel – around 90% – are deployable at any point, with most of the remaining members of our armed forces employed in wider military roles.
“We are committed to providing world-class medical treatment to ensure personnel can return to duty where possible or to support their transition to civilian life.”
This morning Defence Secretary John Healey pledged to “step up the pressure” on Vladimir Putin in the New Year, and put Ukraine in the “strongest possible position”.
He told The Sun: “Make no mistake, this is an unhappy Christmas for Vladimir Putin.”
“He ducked out of Syria with his tail between his legs.
“Meanwhile, on the Ukraine front line, Putin has resorted to using North Korean troops in combat — a sign of weakness, not strength.”
