Working people will be more secure as the Prime Minister will
make a historic commitment today at the NATO Summit (Tuesday 24
June) to spend 5% of GDP on national security.
This pledge to meet the NATO commitment on 5% comes as the
government today publishes its National Security Strategy,
drawing together all of the security work that has taken place
since the General Election, with the relentless pursuit of
British interests as its founding principle.
Marking a step change with the approach of previous governments,
the National Security Strategy directly answers to the concerns
of working people, aligning our national security objectives and
plans for economic growth in a way not seen since
1945.
This will increase investment in security, defence and
resilience, delivering jobs, wages and growth for the British
people to raise living standards and put more money in working
people's pockets.
Prime Minister said:
“We must navigate this era of radical uncertainty with agility,
speed and a clear-eyed sense of the national interest to deliver
security for working people and keep them safe.
“That's why I have made the commitment to spend 5% of GDP on
national security. This is an opportunity to deepen our
commitment to NATO and drive greater investment in the nation's
wider security and resilience.
“After all, economic security is national security, and through
this strategy we will bring the whole of society with us,
creating jobs, growth and wages for working people – guided by my
Plan for Change.”
The UK has long argued that investment in things like energy
security and tackling smuggling gangs is vital to national
security. That is reflected in the National Security Strategy and
the Spending Review and is now expected to be recognised by
NATO.
With the new 5% commitment on national security, the UK expects a
projected split of 3.5% (core defence) and 1.5% (resilience and
security) to be agreed at the NATO summit, with a target date of
2035.
Under NATO's new estimate, the UK expects to reach at least 4.1%
of GDP in 2027. All Allies will review the trajectory and the
balance of spend between defence and wider national resilience in
2029, when NATO next reviews its capability plans.
The National Security Strategy, with support from academics and
other technical experts, reaffirms that the UK must become more
competitive and robust in crucial areas like science, education,
trade and frontier technology – or risk falling behind.
In a more transactional world, the report determines that
building our own sovereign, independent capabilities in
strategically important areas will reduce our dependency on other
nations, support British businesses to grow and shield the
British public from strong headwinds in the global economy.
As this government has said before, the benefits of our increased
investment in defence will be felt directly in the pockets of
working people. This will extend to good, stable work in
communities across the country – from doubling the number of
apprentices and creating 9,500 jobs Berkshire by investing £15
billion in our sovereign warhead programme, to delivering 200 new
jobs in BAE Systems' new artillery factory in Sheffield or
supporting 800 defence jobs across the country to build up to
7,000 long range missiles for our Armed Forces.
Drawing our priorities to make the UK more secure and
economically prosperous further together, the government's
Industrial Strategy will also invest £86 billion in research and
development to drive growth in technologies that will underpin
our future economic and military competitiveness.
The National Security Strategy is also a call to action that our
entire society needs to become more resilient, recognising that
national security means more than it used to – from the security
of our borders to the health of our economy, from supply chains
to food prices and from safety on our streets to the online
world.
Faced by this reality in a world of increasing ‘grey zone'
threats, we cannot take a piecemeal approach that enhances the
security of one part of our critical national infrastructure but
leaves gaps elsewhere for our adversaries to exploit. This
requires us to fortify in the round our economy, industry,
digital communications and transport and energy networks against
cyber-attacks and sabotage that we have seen launched against our
public services and businesses, causing uncertainty and
inconvenience for working people.
So, by stepping up we will meet the threats we face, following
the clear objectives defined in the National Security Strategy to
make every part of the UK more secure and resilient. We will
become more unapologetic and systematic in pursuit of our
national interests – delivering security for the British people.
The National Security Strategy brings
together:
- Strategic Defence Review
- Strategic Security
Review
- AUKUS Review
- Resilience Strategy
- China Audit
- Industrial and Trade
Strategies
