The government’s Defence Investment Plan accelerates war and nuclear dangers – time for a new direction
Today, the government published the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan which increases military spending by a further £15 billion – on top of the £60.2 billion the government spent in 2024/2025. This is way ahead of its previous target to increase spending to £73.5 billion in 2028/29. In fact, military spending is now planned to rise to nearly £80 billion per year by 2029.
£64 billion for nuclear weapons
Announcing the Plan, outgoing Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said that the government will be spending £64 billion on nuclear weapons over the next four years. This will cover:
- the ongoing replacement of Britain’s nuclear-armed Trident submarines with Dreadnought submarines
- nuclear-powered submarines for Australia as part of the AUKUS Treaty
- the ongoing development of the new Astraea nuclear warhead
- the purchase of 12 US F35A nuclear-capable fighter jets, to be deployed as part of NATO’s nuclear mission.
Over the next decade, £26 billion is planned for upgrading nuclear naval bases including Faslane and Devonport.
Starmer confirmed that this increase will be funded by cuts to capital spending across all departments, with deepest cuts for transport and tackling climate change.
Pressure still building for more increases
Despite record levels of military spending, calls from the Defence Industry for further increases are mounting. Co-author of the Strategic Defence Review, General Sir Richard Barrons, along with former chief of the defence staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, are arguing that Andy Burnham, lined up to be the next British Minister, will need to make even higher hikes. Yet Starmer’s increases already come on top of record levels. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Britain’s military spending has increased by 32% since 2016 and the Institute for Fiscal Studies calculates it is now higher than during the Cold War.
Nuclear weapons spending – a black hole
Within the MoD’s ballooning budget, the proportion of public money being spent on Britain’s nuclear weapons is expanding. In 2025 Britain overtook Russia to become the world’s third largest spender on nuclear weapons. The replacement of Britain’s Trident nuclear submarines is estimated to cost at least £205 billion over the 30 year life-time of the new submarines. Yet in reality it will be far higher than that. The Dreadnought replacement has repeatedly been flagged as facing serious delivery problems or being “unachievable” according to the government’s own funding watchdog. In fact, the delay and overspend is so severe that the programme has been dropped from any further reports.
Preparing for war will accelerate it, not prevent it
Starmer continues to justify this huge rearmament programme on the threats from Russia over the Ukraine war. Yet Britain and Europe’s armament of Ukraine with increasingly more lethal weaponry has failed to stop this devastating conflict. On the contrary, it has prolonged and escalated the crisis, and with it the threat of nuclear confrontation between nuclear-armed Russia and NATO.
And these nuclear threats are only growing. Alongside Russia’s deployment of its nuclear weapons to Belarus, the US has stationed a new generation of B61-12 nuclear weapons in NATO bases and French President, Macron, now plans to deploy French Rafale nuclear-armed fighter jets to even more European countries, including Poland – right on Russia’s border. Britain’s purchase of the F35A nuclear-capable jets for NATO deployment will only add to threats of nuclear confrontation between Russia and NATO.
Military spending kills jobs and people
The government attempts to persuade the population to support cuts to vital public services, on the basis that military spending will boost jobs and apprenticeships to young people. But the government’s own data shows that military spending is one of the most jobs-poor economic areas. In fact, increased military spending at the expense of cuts to vital public services actually produces a net reduction in job creation. In reality, this war drive risks the lives of millions of people and will devastate the living standards of those in Britain and across the world.
Building the alternative to war and nukes
The government’s war agenda has made the world more dangerous, increased the risks of nuclear weapons being used and only worsened economic insecurity in this country. At this point of crisis, it is clear that we need a new direction that will genuinely address the key security threats we face – the rising threat of war and nuclear weapons, accelerating climate breakdown, a looming global recession and the rising far right.
We need a political leadership that will break with the warmongering and engage in serious efforts through dialogue to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine and a sustainable peace. We need a leadership that will genuinely defend international law and abide by their own nuclear disarmament commitments. We need a leadership that will prioritise investment in climate action and rebuild our public services and welfare system. These are vital, not only if we are to protect people from the imminent cost-of-living crisis, but also to build a long-term, sustainable future for us and the planet.
This blog, written by Sophie Bolt, first appeared on the CND UK website
