Ahead of his first meeting at the White House since U.S. President Donald Trump began a second term in office, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday announced that the U.K. government would significantly boost military spending—and pay for the increase by cutting foreign aid—following repeated demands from Trump that European countries pay more for the defense of the continent.
The announcement, said human rights group Global Justice Now, represented "politics at its most base," with Starmer apparently bowing to pressure from the U.S. president—a move that is likely to lead to increased suffering in the Global South as developing countries are projected to lose millions of dollars in assistance.
"To appease Trump, he will cut aid to its lowest level in a generation, forcing the poorest to pay so he can push taxpayer money into the coffers of arms corporations," said Nick Dearden, director of the group.
In order to increase military spending, he pointed out, the Labour government could introduce policies such as a wealth tax—supported by nearly two-thirds of Britons—or "scrapping white elephants like Trident," the U.K. nuclear program.
"Instead, Starmer has taken it from the mouths of the hungriest people in the world," said Dearden. "It is a day of shame for Britain."
Under the new spending plan, Starmer said military spending will be increased to 2.5% of economic output by 2027, rising to 3% by the next government's term, which would begin in 2034 at the latest.
The country will spend £13.4 billion ($17 billion) more per year on defense between now and 2027, while overseas development aid spending will be reduced to 0.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), down from 0.5%.
In 2023, the U.K. spent £15.34 billion ($19.4 billion) on foreign aid.
"It will damage efforts to tackle global health needs and pandemics. It will add to economic instability internationally. The impacts will have direct consequences for children and families in the U.K. as well as around the world."
Starmer said he was not "happy to make" the decision, but stressed that "the defense and security of the British people must always come first."
But in addition to being "a betrayal of the world's most vulnerable children," saidMoazzam Malik, CEO of Save the Children, the aid cuts will also harm "the U.K.'s national interest."
"By jeopardizing the U.K.'s partnership with countries across the world and international organizations, it signals a withdrawal from efforts to tackle climate change, global poverty and inequality, and conflict and humanitarian needs," said Malik. "It will damage efforts to tackle global health needs and pandemics. It will add to economic instability internationally. The impacts will have direct consequences for children and families in the U.K. as well as around the world."
"This decision comes at a time when global solidarity has never been more important," Malik added. "Other countries will watch the U.K.'s decision and are likely to follow suit in reducing commitments to international collaboration. It will undermine aspirations to build a 'rules-based order' that is so essential for the U.K.'s long-term security and prosperity. It will make the world a more dangerous place for children now and in the future."
Trump has frequently, falsely claimed that the U.S. has provided the majority of international support to Ukraine as it faces Russia's war on the Eastern European country. European countries have provided more than €132 billion ($138 billion) to Ukraine since January 2022 while the U.S. has provided just over €114 billion ($119 billion).
Malik noted that Starmer pledged to "stand with Ukraine" earlier this week.
"Now he's serving notice on the support needed by the country's children, who have been forced from their homes, seen their schools bombed and lived in fear for three years," he said. "Through U.K. aid, we all help protect children facing the worst the world has to offer. We have every reason to be proud of it and the government should fearlessly protect it."
Since Trump took office again, his billionaire backer, tech mogul Elon Musk, has used his Department of Government Efficiency to make massive cuts to federal agencies, effectively dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Romilly Greenhill, chief executive of Bond, a network of international aid groups in the U.K., called the Labour government's announcement "a shortsighted and appalling move by both the prime minister and Treasury," noting that former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson already cut foreign aid down from 0.7% of the GDP.
"Slashing the already diminished U.K. aid budget to fund an uplift in defense is a reckless decision that will have devastating consequences for millions of marginalized people worldwide," said Greenhill. "Following in the U.S.'s footsteps will not only undermine the U.K.'s global commitments and credibility, but also weaken our own national security interests. Instead of stepping up, the U.K. is turning its back on communities facing poverty, conflict, and insecurity, further damaging its credibility on the global stage."
Former U.K. International Development Secretary Clare Short toldLabourList that cutting foreign aid to fund the military could irrevocably damage Starmer's center-left party.
"I am afraid that, in many respects, this is simply not a Labour government," said Short. "The coalition of voters that have supported Labour since its foundation, low-income people, the morally concerned middle class, internationalists and supporters of the United Nations and international law, will splinter and the traditional Labour Party will be destroyed."
