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Reeves grudgingly resorts to departmental salami slicing to fund UK defence budget

Economy The Guardian By Heather Stewart Economics editor 12 Jun 2026 13:00 1 min read
Reeves grudgingly resorts to departmental salami slicing to fund UK defence budget

Starmer shows no will to pursue the main options for rising commitments: spending cuts, tax rises or borrowing UK politics live – latest updates Business live – latest updates When Keir Starmer wanted to promise Donald Trump that the UK would increase defence spending, he decided to fund it by slashing the UK’s aid budget – losing a cabinet minister, Anneliese Dodds, in the process. This time around, with John Healey’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) demanding an additional £18.5bn over four years

Starmer shows no will to pursue the main options for rising commitments: spending cuts, tax rises or borrowing

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When Keir Starmer wanted to promise Donald Trump that the UK would increase defence spending, he decided to fund it by slashing the UK’s aid budget – losing a cabinet minister, Anneliese Dodds, in the process.

This time around, with John Healey’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) demanding an additional £18.5bn over four years to fund the defence investment plan, there was no such lever to hand.

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