{"text":[[{"start":9.04,"text":"Chancellor John Healey will shelve his own target of spending 3 per cent of Britain’s GDP on defence by 2030 when he presents his first Budget in October, with tough decisions on how to fund the military pushed down the track."}],[{"start":22.56,"text":"Healey resigned as defence secretary in June over what he saw as inadequate ambition for military spending by Sir Keir Starmer’s government, but since arriving at the Treasury has had to grapple with financial constraints."}],[{"start":35.44,"text":"Healey’s previous insistence that Britain should spend 3 per cent of its GDP on defence by 2030 — as a milestone to reaching a Nato target of 3.5 per cent by 2035 — is now up in the air."}],[{"start":48.16,"text":"Government insiders told the FT that Healey’s Budget would focus on filling a defence equipment funding gap of nearly £5bn left behind by former prime minister Keir Starmer, amounting to about £1.2bn a year."}],[{"start":61.4,"text":"But much bigger decisions on an uplift in defence spending will be delayed until a Treasury spending review next year."}],[{"start":68.16,"text":"One government figure said: “The immediate priority is to fund the defence investment plan that was published by Keir Starmer and the chancellor will set out more details on that at the Budget.”"}],[{"start":78.12,"text":"“Beyond that, at the spending review we’ll set out a clear path to meet our 3.5 per cent Nato target in 2035 and set a target date for us to hit 3 per cent on that path. The spending review is the right place to set a target date,” they added."}],[{"start":93.6,"text":"Bee Boileau, a researcher at the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank, said raising spending to 3 per cent in 2030 would cost an extra £10bn a year in today’s terms."}],[{"start":104.44,"text":"Boosting spending further to 3.5 per cent of GDP would cost £25bn compared with existing levels."}],[{"start":112.4,"text":"Defence spending is currently set to reach 2.7 per cent of GDP by 2030."}],[{"start":117.28,"text":"Boileau said lifting defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP in 2030 would provide a “sensible waypoint” if the government were to increase outlays in a linear way on its route to the ultimate Nato target, but that the increase could be backloaded."}],[{"start":131.54,"text":"The chancellor was previously adamant that Britain must increase defence spending to 3 per cent by 2030, notably to address a growing threat from Russia."}],[{"start":141.12,"text":"In his resignation letter to Starmer in June, the former defence secretary said: “As we have regularly discussed, I am certain that a headmark date for 3 per cent of GDP on defence in 2030 is what Britain must set.”"}],[{"start":155.6,"text":"Prime Minister Andy Burnham has refused to commit to hitting a 3 per cent of GDP target by 2030. He said this week that the fiscal backdrop to the Budget was “challenging”."}],[{"start":167.36,"text":"Wes Streeting, defence secretary, has also declined to commit to such a target, but said: “I certainly feel like we have a firm friend in His Majesty’s Treasury.”"}],[{"start":176.84,"text":"A government spokesperson said: “The first duty of government is to keep its citizens safe. The prime minister and chancellor are committed to fully funding the Defence Investment Plan.”"}],[{"start":185.979,"text":"“At the spending review we will set out a pathway to meet our Nato commitment of 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035 and will set a target date to hit 3 per cent on that path.”"}],[{"start":199.08,"text":"In an interview with Sky News broadcast on Friday, Healey said that “fiscal discipline” was the “first priority” for any chancellor, adding that a Burnham government “simply can’t deal with the problems we face as a country by maxing out the country’s credit card”."}],[{"start":213.6,"text":"When asked about the 3 per cent defence spending target, he said: “Fiscal discipline has been the bedrock of the government that I was part of for the first couple of years, as a Labour government since July 2024.”"}],[{"start":224.533,"text":"“We build on that but it is not easy. It is not easy in a world in which you see global conflict, increasing dangers,” Healey added."}],[{"start":234.64,"text":"Additional reporting by David Sheppard"}],[{"start":238.88,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787903287_4632.mp3"}