Burnham might not reveal plans to boost defence spending for another YEAR despite mounting threat from Russia

Published: 08:28 BST, 6 October 2026 | Updated: 08:42 BST, 6 October 2026

Andy Burnham might not lay out plans to boost defence spending for another year, it was revealed today.

The PM has pledged to set out a path for expenditure on the military to reach 3 per cent of GDP, and then 3.5 per cent by 2035.

That was widely expected to be in a spending review next Spring, with Chancellor John Healey already facing anger that he was not proposing to give clarity at the Budget on October 28.

However, ministers now appear to be looking at holding the spending review later in the year, pushing back any commitments further.

Treasury sources denied that there was any delay, insisting the fiscal event did not have to be until the end of next year. 

'The date of the Spending Review has not been set. This is pure rumour and speculation,' a spokeswoman said.

Fears have been mounting that the UK is not ready to confront threats from states such as Russia.  

Andy Burnham (pictured with John Healey) might not lay out plans to boost defence spending for another year, it was revealed today

Mr Burnham faced a backlash for failing to mention defence in his Labour conference speech last week.

On a round of interviews at the Tory gathering in Birmingham this morning, Kemi Badenoch said: 'He needs to start funding our defence now.'  

Mr Healey quit Keir Starmer's Government over the lack of a clear timetable for increasing defence spending.

He has been adamant that he has not changed his mind over the need for a dramatic rise in investment.

However, the Chancellor is struggling to balance the books in the Budget with markets driving up UK borrowing costs and Labour promising a host of other big-spending  

Plans set out in the defence investment plan (Dip) will see spending rise to 2.7 per cent of GDP by 2027-28.

But Mr Healey will have to lay out on October 28 how around £5billion of that extra money will be found, as it was not funded when the plan was announced under Sir Keir.