3 days ago
Keir Starmer to unveil strategic defence review and put UK on ‘war-fighting readiness'
Update:
Date: 2025-06-02T06:56:44.000Z
Title: Keir Starmer
Content: Good morning. In his great history of 20th century Britain, The Rise and Fall of the British Nation, David Edgerton uses the phrase 'warfare state' to describe the UK under the post-war Attlee government, and its successors. He does so to make the point that, although we think of that period as the era of the welfare state, defence spending was still huge (around 10% of GDP in the early 1950s). is not going to get close to that, but 'warfare state' still feels like a useful term to describe at least the direction in which he wants to shove Britain, as the strategic defence review being published today will indicate.
Starmer will be interviewed on the Today programme shortly. Here is Dan Sabbagh's overnight preview story on what the defence review will say.
And here is Dan's analysis, based on what we know so far about the document (which is quite a lot, because the Ministry of Defence has been trailing bits of it for days).
Here is the agenda for the day.
8.10am: is interviewed on the Today programme.
9.30am: The Speaker's Conference on the security of candidates publishes an interim report.
10am: Starmer launches the strategic defence review at an event in Glasgow, where he will be taking questions from journalists.
10am: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, holds a press conference in Aberdeen. Later, in the afternoon, he will be campaigning in Hamilton, where there is a Scottish parliamentary byelection on Thursday.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
2.30pm: Yvette Cooper, home secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
After 3.10pm: Peers debate Commons amendments to the data (use and access) bill, in the latest stage in the stand-off between the two chambers over AI and copywright law.
After 3.30pm: John Healey, the defence secretary, makes a statement to MPs about the strategic defence review.
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