Signal UK defence spending to reach 2.5% of GDP from April 2027

Summary

The report records that the UK is strengthening its security commitments despite the pressures on international institutions. UK defence spending is due to rise to 2.5% of GDP from April 2027. This fits a wider pattern in which rising geopolitical tension has lifted the number of NATO members meeting the defence guideline from three in 2014 to an expected 23 in 2024. The UK undertook, in its 2023 Integrated Review Refresh, to be a leading NATO contributor, to build its military to NATO standards and to keep its net zero targets. The Prime Minister has likewise restated that NATO is the cornerstone of British security. The report presents these NATO commitments as examples of mitigation against the risk to international institutions.