Outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is pushing ahead with plans to publish the controversial Defence Investment Plan (Dip) in the coming weeks, despite his successor not having signed up to it.
This year’s Nato summit in the Turkish capital of Ankara, which begins on 7 July, has been touted by ministers as their deadline for unveiling the spending plan.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said on Tuesday that she is “confident” it will be published before the summit.
That means that Sir Keir will still be in post when it is published, as nominations for his successor are not due to open until after the summit, on 9 July.
Downing Street and defence leaders have previously fallen out over the Dip.
Former defence secretary John Healey and armed forces minister Al Carns resigned earlier this month, with Mr Healey telling Sir Keir the money on offer to fund the plan “falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time”.
Former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who has signalled his intention to run for the Labour leadership, wants the plan delayed until he enters Downing Street, The Times reported.
Mr Burnham is understood to want to examine the plan before making any decisions, the newspaper reported.
If no Labour MP runs against the new Makerfield MP, it is likely he will be prime minister by 17 July.
Mr Carns has also said he has not ruled out running for the Labour leadership.
Ms Reeves told the Commons that she had met on Monday with Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis and Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Richard Knighton “to talk through the Dip”.
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She said: “The Ministry of Defence (MoD) are producing the Dip that will meet the scale of the challenges and meet the moment with increased readiness.
“I am confident that the new Dip will be published before the Nato Ankara summit.
“It will involve more money spent more effectively and will meet the scale of challenges facing our country.”
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy on Monday also vowed to meet the Nato summit deadline.
“I can confirm that the Dip will be published before the Nato summit,” he told MPs.
“And I think it is important that the prime minister is in post for that Nato summit.”
Ms Reeves made her comments in an exchange with Conservative MP for South West Devon Rebecca Smith.
“The former defence secretary has blown apart the Dip, revealing that the Treasury were prepared to offer only a pitiful increase in defence spending, just 0.08 per cent by 2030, despite growing threats across the world,” Ms Smith said.
“At the same time, the Treasury continues to fork out billions for welfare and net-zero agendas.
“Innovative defence small and medium-sized enterprises are effectively locked out of MoD (Ministry of Defence) contracts and denied the opportunity to scale their capabilities.”
Asked whether she would “stand in the way of the delivery of the Dip”, Ms Reeves said: “The Dip will be published before the summit and it will involve more money spent more effectively.
“And it will meet the scale of the challenges we face, but frankly, I will take no lectures from the party opposite.”
Ms Reeves said the Conservatives made “£12 billion worth of cuts” during their first five years in office.
“We are turning that around with the biggest uplift in defence spending since the end of the Cold War,” she said.
“This Labour government will continue to invest in defence, with contracts awarded to firms here in Britain to keep our country safe.”
