Burnham rejects cutting social security to fund defence, avoids timeline for 3% GDP target
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he will not trim social security programmes to meet the 3 % of GDP defence spending goal and gave no timetable for reaching it.
In a heated Prime Minister’s Questions exchange, Prime Minister Andy Burnham affirmed that social security benefits will not be reduced to finance the ambition of spending 3 % of GDP on defence. When pressed by Kemi Badenoch on how the extra money would be sourced, Burnham rejected the opposition’s proposal to cut housing benefit, citing the risk of a surge in homelessness and temporary accommodation for children. He emphasized that strong national security and community resilience can coexist without sacrificing welfare.
Although he previously hinted that the 3 % target could be met by 2030, he now declined to provide a concrete timetable, noting that the Treasury will wait until the next spending review to outline the path. Chancellor John Healey has indicated that the budget will not set a definitive route, and the Defence Investment Plan projects spending to rise to 2.7 % of GDP by 2027-28. Burnham pledged to deliver a strategy to reach 3.5 % of GDP by 2035.
