Nato chief says he is confident Burnham will stick to defence spending target
Mark Rutte stressed need for military investment ahead of long-awaited UK funding announcement on Tuesday
TL;DR
- Nato chief Mark Rutte is confident the next UK prime minister will maintain defense spending commitments.
- Rutte believes defense investment stimulates economic growth and creates jobs.
- The UK's long-delayed defense investment plan is expected on Tuesday.
- The plan is seen as a step towards meeting Nato's 3.5% of GDP defense spending target by 2035.
- Germany is on track to meet its spending target six years ahead of schedule.
- John Healey resigned as defence secretary over the pace of UK spending increases.
- Rutte met with Keir Starmer, Dan Jarvis, and Yvette Cooper ahead of the Nato summit in Ankara.
- Andy Burnham recently spoke about ensuring public procurement works harder for taxpayers, including in defense.