UK Chancellor Healey to Borrow Billions for Defence Boost Ahead of Budget

Britain’s defence spending is set to receive a significant boost as Chancellor John Healey prepares to announce a borrowing programme worth billions of pounds ahead of Wednesday’s Budget. The funding will be channelled through the National Wealth Fund and the British Business Bank, with an extra £20.4 billion allocated to the two state-run investment funds, of which £15.4 billion is earmarked for the National Wealth Fund.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting told The i Paper that the United Kingdom, NATO’s third-largest defence spender, will “lead from the front” and do “whatever it takes” to keep the country and its allies safe. He highlighted cooperation with the E5 group of European powers – Germany, Poland, France, Italy and the UK – to strengthen collective defences and meet NATO commitments.

Healey, who resigned as defence secretary in June, is expected to confirm that the £4.7 billion shortfall in the Defence Investment Plan will be covered, and that the Department for Transport will be spared further cuts after a previous capital-budget raid. Other Whitehall capital budgets, including parts of the Ministry of Defence’s own spending and the heat-pump subsidy programme, are likely to be trimmed to fund the shortfall.

A Treasury spokesperson said the additional capital will help British businesses grow and create jobs, while supporting industries and infrastructure that drive lasting economic growth.

Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith urged Healey to prioritise defence spending in the Budget and suggested that cuts to the heat-pump subsidy scheme would not be sufficient to close the funding gap. He argued that welfare reform could provide the necessary resources to reach the target of 3 percent of GDP on defence by 2030.

The proposed funding approach is intended to meet a broader effort to increase defence spending by £15 billion over four years, even as the UK currently spends 2.6 percent of GDP on defence.