General · 1 July 2026
Starmer: My successor should borrow £4.7bn more for defence
Chris McAndrew via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-3.0)
Future spending choices could tighten borrowing room and affect other public projects. On Wednesday Keir Starmer said his successor should use fiscal headroom to cover a £4.7bn defence funding gap after announcing extra investment worth £15bn for weapons systems. Economists said the plan would reduce available headroom, while officials are considering cuts including £2bn from the energy department's capital budget.
Reported by The Guardian · How we write briefs