Stuart Anderson MP has blasted Labour’s Defence Investment Plan, which he has said fails to equip the Armed Forces with the resources needed to protect Britain from key threats.
After being delayed for almost a year, the Plan confirms that spending on defence will rise to just 2.69 per cent of GDP by 2030, behind Germany on 3.7 per cent and Poland on 4.48 per cent.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
"After being delayed at least five times over ten months, Labour’s Defence Investment Plan has been published at the last possible moment before the Nato Summit commences in Turkey on 7th July 2026. Having cancelled the Conservatives’ multi-billion pound munitions plan, Labour’s long-awaited plan fails to equip the Armed Forces with the resources needed to shore up our defences. The newly appointed Defence Secretary has failed to secure sufficient extra funding to close existing gaps in military funding, which has already fallen by 2% in real terms last year. The Armed Forces face a £28 billion shortfall over the next four years. The new Plan commits £15 billion in extra funding - £1.5 billion more than the £13.5 billion previously pledged. However, this still leaves a £13 billion funding gap at a time of significant global instability. I believe that we need to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence as soon as possible in order to defend our nation. However, the Plan confirms that spending on defence will rise to just 2.69 per cent of GDP by 2030, behind Germany on 3.7 per cent and Poland on 4.48 per cent. Labour is not willing to make the tough decisions required to keep our country safe by reallocating crucial funding to enhance vital capabilities.”
The long-awaited plan was promised last Autumn, before being delayed at least five times over ten months. Responding to its publication on 30th June 2026, Stuart said that the new Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis MP has failed to secure sufficient extra funding to close existing gaps in military funding. The announcement comes after both Defence Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns resigned their positions in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Government over the lack of funding that had been made available. Earlier in the year, it was reported that the Armed Forces face a £28 billion shortfall over the next four years. The new Plan, negotiated by Dan Jarvis, commits £15 billion in extra funding. The new funding is £1.5 billion more than the £13.5 billion that had been previously reported. However, it has reportedly been diverted from the expansion of Cadet forces and upgrades to military housing. Stuart has said that even the new figure still leaves a £13 billion funding gap at a time of significant global instability, almost half of what is needed to fill the gap.
Stuart has consistently called for a sustained increase to boost defence the readiness, lethality, and survivability of the Armed Forces. As part of his campaign, Stuart strongly supports calls to increase spending on defence to 3% of GDP by 2030. He has added that spending on defence needs to rise to 3.5% of GDP as soon as possible, with an extra 1.5% of GDP on defence-related spending. Stuart has said that Labour’s Plan fails to set a clear timeline for achieving these targets. Despite pledging to spend 2.5% GDP on defence by 2027 and 3% in the next Parliament, SIPRI data shows that UK defence spending fell 2% in real terms last year. Defence spending will reach just 2.69% of GDP by 2030 - leaving a gap of billions of pounds.
The Plan also follows Labour’s cancellation of the previous Conservative Government’s £10 billion Munitions Plan in October 2024, pending the outcome of the Strategic Defence Review which was published in July 2025. In government, the Conservatives also placed orders for 13 advanced new frigates. The orders are taking their time to deliver. The Conservatives have said that extra funding could have sped up their production. However, the Plan no longer includes money for up to eight Type 83 destroyers or five Type 32 frigates. The Centre for Social Justice reported that Labour’s £18 billion welfare hike could pay for 17 Navy frigates or 250,000 soldiers. Concerns have also been raised that Labour’s £6 billion scheme for six new munitions factories may not be fully delivered until the end of this decade and beyond if there are further delays.
The Conservatives would prioritise investment in defence by reallocating £11 billion of investment currently earmarked for Net Zero vanity projects through a Sovereign Defence Fund. This would mobilise billions in public and private funding to overhaul the defence industrial base, including taking stakes in UK defence start-ups, investing in dual-use companies, and building resilient supply chains. The Conservatives have also vowed to reinstate the two-child Benefit Cap, which would allocate £1.6 billion per year directly to defence spending to fund 6,000 new Regular Army soldiers and 14,000 new Army Reservists. The Conservatives would also abandon the stalled Chagos Surrender Deal and use the money to strengthen the Royal Navy by speeding up the delivery of a new fleet of frigates and support the shipbuilding industry. Around £670 million would be earmarked for the deal over the next three years. The Conservatives would use at least £400 million of that money to accelerate shipbuilding programmes and tackle the current shortage of operational vessels.
