Lord Hague has forecast that the UK’s defence expenditure will have to increase “for years to come” due to “the current state of the globe.”
The former foreign secretary forecast “continuous increases” in expenditure in the armed services, stating that “defence spending will have to increase more in the coming years.”
After Rishi Sunak announced an additional £5 billion in financing for the Ministry of Defence and made a long-term commitment to eventually spend 2.5% of GDP on the armed services, he made these remarks.
When asked if the additional financing was sufficient, Lord Hague told Times Radio, “These are always compromises.” Similar to what we said about junior physicians, you must get the money from someplace, and the current state of the globe makes it evident that we must find additional funds for defence.
“Well, this is a negotiation. According to the report, Ben Wallace requested £11 billion and received an additional £5 billion. This is the type of negotiation that occurs within the government.
“However, I do believe that over the next few years, defence spending will need to increase even more, as the Ukraine conflict demonstrates that it is not simply a matter of speeding up the production of a few missiles, but rather of producing many, many more missiles and rounds of ammunition for years to come.
“Thus, I anticipate continuous increases in defence spending in the years to come.” There is another another significant burden on the chancellor.