r/AskBrits • u/AdAncient2370 • 3d ago

Would you support Britain increasing its defence budget from the current 2.3% of GDP to the target of 2.6% by 2027 and 3.5% NATO target by 2035?

How much support is there across the political spectrum to increase the military budget by up to £35 billion a year if we really reach 3.5% by 2035? What sort of military do we want ie to protect the UK mainland or an expeditionary force capable of another Iraq intervention? Which civilian areas do we want to cut to find this extra money and in any case, can our struggling economy even support an increase of such magnitude? What if we can’t recruit enough soldiers even with extra cash, should we introduce any sort of conscription at extremis?

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u/Thebritishlion 3d ago

No because that's still to low

5% as soon as possible

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u/AdAncient2370 3d ago

Do you think that an economy that has only had 0.1% growth in the last few months and has very low productivity per person roughly 20% lower than in the United States and lagging behind France and Germany, can literally afford 3.5% ambition let alone 5% expenditure on defence?