Rachel Reeves set to pump extra £2billion into defence spending in bid to boost sluggish UK growth
RACHEL Reeves will pump an extra £2billion into defence spending in a bid to boost sluggish UK growth.
The Chancellor will bolster Armed Forces funding to try to offset gloomy economic forecasts in today’s Spring Statement.
Cash will help fit warships with guns that can hit a £1 coin at 1,000 metres and down drones from three miles.
Drawn from Treasury reserves and the overseas aid budget, it will push defence spending to 2.36 per cent of GDP — with a commitment to hit 2.5 per cent in 2027.
Ms Reeves will say the investment — which is on top of the £2.9billion announced in her Budget — is aimed at helping to increase both national and economic security.
She announced the funding lift following a visit to defence engineering firm Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land in Telford, Shrops, where she was shown a simulator.
She will add: “As defence spending rises, I want the whole country to feel the benefits.
“Our task is to secure Britain’s future in a world that is changing before our eyes.”
But in a blow to Ms Reeves, the Office for Budget Responsibility is set to cut 2025’s UK growth forecast from two to one per cent.
And polling by More In Common found 69 per cent of Brits doubt Labour will be able to improve public finances, while 53 per cent say the party was not upfront about its plans before the election.
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride urged Ms Reeves to use her statement “to fix her own mistakes and end Labour’s war on enterprise”.
'WORK OR FIGHT'
By Martina Bet
JOBLESS youngsters should be forced into work or military training, the former chairman of Tesco has said.
John Allan called for crackdowns on benefits and “a bit of coercion” to get around one million so-called NEETs — not in employment, education or training — into jobs.
He told Times Radio: “You could make some benefit payments conditional, particularly in that age group, on people really seeking work. Or we could reintroduce military training.”
Mr Allan also argued that “urgent, accelerated training programmes” were needed to improve construction skills because “Polish plumbers are not coming back”.
Labour aims to slash the £48billion welfare bill by £5billion.