{"id":16101,"date":"2026-05-17T14:57:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T06:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=16101"},"modified":"2026-05-17T14:58:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T06:58:04","slug":"starmer-prepares-for-leadership-battle-with-18bn-defence-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=16101","title":{"rendered":"Starmer prepares for leadership battle with \u00a318bn defence boost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Starmer is set to approve a spending hike<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to approve an \u00a318bn increase in defence spending, as he prepares to battle for his political survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior defence insiders said the investment would enable the armed forces to modernise and prepare to fight a future war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to reports in The Times, national security<\/a> adviser, Jonathan Powell, has written to Starmer in recent weeks warning him that Britain would struggle to maintain its position on the world stage without a significant hike in spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He warned that the armed forces could not afford jets, munitions and advanced technology that is needed to fight a future war without upping the budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dame Antonia Romeo, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, is also understood to have pushed for an increase to spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Approving the boost<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Starmer is expected to approve the spending boost as soon as next week, ending months of delays and internal rows, amid concerns in the Treasury that the boost is unaffordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is currently unclear how the increase will be funded, but a Whitehall source said it would be \u201cfully affordable\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The boost comes as Starmer gears up<\/a> to battle for his premiership, following a week of resignations and turmoil inside No 10, with his role thrown further under threat by Andy Burnham attempting to return to Westminster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Greater Manchester Mayor confirmed he would run for a seat in Makerfield after MP Josh Simons stepped down to make way for him, and challenge Starmer for No 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prime minister pledged to put defence and security at the centre of his premiership, in reflection of the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Iran, including an ambition to reach three per cent of GDP in the next parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics warned that failing to increase defence spending would undermine his ambitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other challenges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Away from Burnham, Starmer has also been forced to deal with a number of resignations this week amid the explosion of Labour infighting, including that of health secretary Wes Streeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The health secretary posted a letter on X where he refers to last week\u2019s local election results as \u201cunprecedented \u2013 both in terms of the scale of the defeat and the consequences of that failure\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added there is \u201cno doubt that the unpopularity of this government was a major and common factor\u201d in the losses last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starmer appointed James Murray, MP for Ealing North, for the job despite having never run a major Whitehall department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucy Rigby was appointed as chief secretary to the Treasury and Rachel Blake<\/a> has been appointed City minister.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to approve an \u00a318bn increase in defence spending, as he prepares to battle for his political survival. Senior defence insiders said the investment would enable the armed forces to modernise and prepare to fight a future war. According to reports in The Times, national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, has written to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":16102,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[3578,4146,3151],"class_list":["post-16101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-usa","tag-defence","tag-prepares","tag-starmer"],"yoast_head":"\nStarmer prepares for leadership battle with \u00a318bn defence boost - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=16101\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Starmer prepares for leadership battle with \u00a318bn defence boost - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to approve an \u00a318bn increase in defence spending, as he prepares to battle for his political survival. 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