Will the UK spend more on defence? What the NATO chief said
NATO chief Mark Rutte told the BBC he is confident the UK will meet its defence spending promise. He said he was "absolutely confident" Britain will spend 3.5% of national income on defence by 2035. Ministers, he said, know they must raise spending a little each year. BBC
Rutte spoke to BBC political editor Chris Mason after talks in London with Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband. He said Britain cannot reach the 2035 target "in one go in 2034". He has urged all NATO countries not to wait until the last minute.
Rutte said the details will be clear at the UK spending review next year, when the Government sets out what each department will get. Chancellor John Healey has pointed to 3% by 2030 as an early checkpoint. Prime Minister Andy Burnham renewed the 3.5% promise after entering Downing Street. His predecessor Keir Starmer had agreed to it last year.
Rutte said defence and welfare budgets should be kept separate. He said a growing economy is the way to pay for military promises. The test, he said, comes next year.
The 3.5% is part of a bigger NATO promise to spend 5% of national income on defence by 2035. The 3.5% is for core armed forces and the equipment NATO asks each country to provide. The other 1.5% is for wider security spending. Allies have agreed to send in yearly plans showing steady progress. NATO
Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, pushed for the 5% promise at NATO leaders' talks in The Hague. Before the summit on 7 July, he urged countries to show "clear, concrete and credible plans" to reach 3.5%. Starmer had told Rutte the UK would publish its defence plan before the summit and repeated the aim of 3%. Rutte later called the UK's Defence Investment Plan a "good step". He also made a speech at Chatham House in London saying countries must spend more.
European NATO countries and Canada spent 20% more on defence in 2025 than the year before, once price rises are taken out. Reuters NATO said in June 2025 that all allies would reach the old target of 2% that year. Rutte has said NATO will become more European-led.
The broader context here is about keeping promises on time. Like climbing stairs one step at a time, Rutte wants yearly rises that can be checked in Brussels, not one big jump at the end. For him, credibility means a clear plan paid for each year, not just one announcement.
Looking at what this means for Whitehall, the position is delicate. Burnham kept Starmer's promise, and Rutte said in June he trusted Burnham to keep it. Healey's 3% by 2030 is an early test. The spending review next year is the key moment. Rutte's answer on paying for defence is growth, not taking from welfare. That may suit ministers who do not want a choice between guns and butter, but it leaves a question if growth is weak.
