Labour MPs Urge Starmer To Hike Defence Spending Amid Trump’s Ukraine Peace Push
Keir Starmer met Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday (Alamy)
4 min read
Labour MPs have urged Keir Starmer to increase defence spending more swiftly and show leadership on the world stage, as US President Trump pushes for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
The Prime Minister travelled to Paris on Monday afternoon as he met the heads of government from Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, the President of the European Council and European Commission, and the General Secretary of NATO. In an article for The Telegraph, Starmer said he was “ready and willing” to make the difficult decision to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine if necessary to uphold European security.
Starmer suggested the UK could play a “unique role” in mediating a deal between Europe and the United States. The Prime Minister is expected to meet President Trump soon, with the US premier having praised their relationship over the last few weeks, while ties between the President and European Union have come under immense strain.
Since the illegal Russian invasion in February 2022, successive British leaders from Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have been steadfast in their economic and military support for Ukraine during the war.
Labour MP Tan Dhesi, the Chair of the Defence Select Committee, told PoliticsHome the UK had to prepare for the “potential absence” or a significant reduction of US involvement in European security, and had to prepare to step up its own contribution.
“I’m reiterating my call to the government for setting out a clear timetable as soon as possible about how we’re going to reach 2.5 per cent defence spend,” he said.
“At this critical troubling time for our continent’s defence and security, given Russia’s imperialistic designs, we as a nation must show leadership. That is what our friends and allies are also expecting of us.”
Labour MP Blair McDougall, who sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said the UK had been complacent on defence spending for decades and had fallen into a false sense of security that the Cold War peace dividend would continue for longer.
He added that Western allies had begun to experience a version of Trump who was unreliable and feared Europe would be exposed without an uplift in defence spending.
“People who are looking for a Love, Actually moment, have as poor a sense of geopolitical strategies as they do taste in movies,” McDougall said.
“Ukraine has overwhelmingly relied on American armaments, there is not a clear alternative defence industrial base that we're going to rely on,” he added.
World leaders including British delegates attended the Munich security conference last week, with keynote speeches from European leaders and US vice-president JD Vance.
Vance’s speech came after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said it was unrealistic for Ukraine to recoup territory it had lost to the first Russian invasion in 2014.
The vice-president’s speech left European politicians “stunned”, according to Labour MP Mel Ward, who was in the room.
Ward told PoliticsHome: "JD Vance came and spoke, and everybody was left shell shocked by what he had to say, for a couple of reasons. To stand in Germany, of all places, and say that democracy has nothing to fear from misinformation was staggering.
“Obviously, he's aware of German and European history which has demonstrated that the opposite is true. So that was shocking for everybody to hear.”
She added: “I think the main point is that a huge amount has changed in the last few days, and that's a message that we need to be very clear about because there are significant implications.”
Despite grave security concerns from political leaders, the British public are reluctant to finance extra defence spending via tax rises. A YouGov poll found 55 per cent of the pubic either strongly or somewhat opposed hiking direct taxation to pay for higher spending, compared with 30 per cent who either strongly or somewhat supported the policy.
Starmer for the first time suggested British troops could be deployed to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping effort. The UK currently has a small handful of troops in Estonia since 2016, a Baltic country which borders Russia.
Lord Ricketts, former UK national security adviser, said any peacekeeping force should act ‘stabilisation’ or ‘reassurance force’ – as there is a risk that if a ceasefire broke down, British troops could engage in fighting with Russians.
“Putting boots on the ground involves real risk. Given experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, I think Parliament would want to look at that very carefully, and would want to hear very carefully from ministers what it would involve, what the rules of engagement are, what happens if fighting breaks out, what is the exit strategy? People won't just be willing to nod this through.”
The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said Parliament would be consulted in the event British troops were put on the ground in Ukraine. But he came short of promising that there would be a Parliamentary vote on the decision.
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