Streeting backs 3% defence target but says Chancellor must wait a year to commit, sparking fresh urgency fears

From the Newshound archive · first published 11 October 2026.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said on live television that he supports raising defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030, yet argued that Chancellor John Healey making an equivalent commitment at this point would unsettle international markets. He insisted the pledge must be deferred to a Spending Review that is not anticipated before late 2026. The 28 October Budget will deal only with a near-£5 billion shortfall in the Defence Investment Plan, leaving no spending path established.

Healey had himself quit Starmer's government months earlier over Labour's refusal to set a timetable for defence spending increases, lending Streeting's case for delay a notable awkwardness.

Downing Street faced embarrassment after Andy Burnham appeared at PMQs to promise the 3% target by 2035 — only for No 10 to row back on his remarks.

Streeting is said to be under pressure regarding an earlier pledge to resign should Labour fall short of its own defence spending targets.