When UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last week delivered what might be his final budget ahead of the country’s general election, he mentioned taxes 52 times, the National Health Service 23 times and migration four times.
But observers were quick to point out the elephant in the room. Despite a seemingly ever-growing threat from Russia, the chancellor mentioned defence only once in Wednesday’s speech, and offered no new money for the creaking armed forces.
UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt leaves Downing Street to present his budget to parliament last week.Credit: Bloomberg
Only a day after Hunt’s omission came a scathing report by MPs warning of a £29 billion ($56 billion) financial black hole in defence spending, criticising the lack of a “credible” plan that has left Britain’s security increasingly reliant on allies.
The funding shortfall is more than three times the size of the wafer-thin £8.9 billion financial buffer Hunt has left himself in his fiscal plans over the next five years.
It comes as security experts warn of a “dangerous decade” of instability, with Russia’s war in Ukraine entering its third year.
Vladimir Putin is ramping up military production and Western leaders increasingly fear he will test NATO’s resolve that an attack on one member is an attack on all.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is ramping up military production and Western leaders fear he will test NATO’s resolve.Credit: Reuters
Unfortunately, the UK’s underfunded defence services are not an outlier. Instead, they are replicated in every other large European economy.
For years, defence spending stagnated while welfare costs surged. Now, bloated with COVID debt, feeling the pressures of ageing populations and confronted with voters furious over deteriorating public services, there is a big question mark over whether European countries can change course.
‘Dangerous decade’: Europe is now at Vladimir Putin’s mercy
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12.03.2024
When UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last week delivered what might be his final budget ahead of the country’s general election, he mentioned taxes 52 times, the National Health Service 23 times and migration four times.
But observers were quick to point out the elephant in the room. Despite a seemingly ever-growing threat from Russia, the chancellor mentioned defence only once in Wednesday’s speech, and offered no new money for the creaking armed forces.
UK........
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