The £30 million hole in Labour's defence budget

The UK's Labour government is under pressure to publish its long-overdue Defence Investment Plan, which has been delayed for a year. the plan is expected to unveil an increase in defence spending of around £15 to £18 billion, but its publication is still subject to Treasury approval.

Senior military figures fear they could be left with barely £2 billion a year in extra expenditure,while former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned the UK may be plotting to extricate itself from a costly stealth fighter alliance.

An echo of Sydney's 2024 institutional buy-up

The Labour government's failure to publish the Defence Investment Plan has been blamed for damaging national security and the UK's arms industry, as manufacturers remain unaware as to what they should produce.

Key defence figures who were previously supportive of the government have also broken ranks over the DIP, condemning delays as indicative of Labour's failure to prioritise national security over the expanding welfare state.

What auditors flagged in the May filing

The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee has warned at the weekend how delays around the DIP have undermined the UK's credibility with allies.

Britain is also second bottom in a NATO league table that ranks member states based on the extent to which they are meeting their rearmament promises.

Tehran's two-track response

While Sir Keir has committed publicly to publishing the DIP before next month's NATO summit, Treasury officials may attempt to delay its release until after the Makerfield byelection on 18th June.

Victory for Andy Burnham would effectively trigger a Labour leadership race, which could lead to the DIP being put to one side until the leadership issue is settled.

The Senate's three-vote margin

Ministers have been wrangling for months over the DIP and a spending boost.

Armed Forces Minister Al Carns and Defence Secretary John Healey have fallen out, with the former barred from reading drafts of the plan.

A familiar pattern from the 2019 crash

With Sir Keir expected to announce an additional £15 billion over a yet to be confirmed period, and as last year's Strategic Defence Review recommended increasing defence spending by £28 billion, savings must be made somewhere.

The Times reported today that Sir Keir is prepraing to cut spending on net-zero projects such as carbon capture and storage to pay for additional defence spending.