Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party, has called for UK defence spending to rise above the current target of 2.5% of GDP by 2030. In a major foreign policy speech at the Policy Exchange think tank, Badenoch said the world appears to be returning to an era of “the strong and the weak”, and the UK “must not be weak”.
The Conservative manifesto had pledged to hit the 2.5% target by 2030, but Badenoch said this was meant to be a “down payment on more”. She argued that figure is now “no longer sufficient” and the UK must “rebuild and go further and faster”.
Badenoch urged Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to consider diverting some of the UK’s overseas aid budget towards increased defence expenditure. She said Starmer “should consider whether some of the 0.5% currently spent on development aid should be repurposed, at least in the short term, towards defence and security.”
The Tory leader also signalled the UK should be willing to consider withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if it continues to “stop us from doing what is right for the people of this country.” She said: “If it continues to do so, at some point we will probably have to leave.”
Badenoch’s speech outlined a vision for a more realist, UK-focused foreign policy, warning the country faces a “bitter reckoning” if it fails to adapt to the changing world. She said the UK must be willing to “disengage” from international bodies that have been “taken over by activists or by autocratic regimes.”