(Bloomberg) — Former UK cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt upped the ante in the race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister, by pledging to raise defence spending to counter aggression from Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
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Britain should spend 3% of its GDP on defense by 2027-28, Hunt said in an emailed statement, or risk “losing its leading position” within NATO.
Johnson last month said UK defense spending would rise to 2.5% of GDP by 2030, but he faced pressure from a section of his Conservative Party to act quicker amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. The prime minister said the current level is 2.3%.
The government last year set out plans to cut thousands of soldiers and invest in technology including electronic warfare and drones.
Hunt, a former foreign secretary, said the planned cuts were “now unthinkable.” The UK is “facing a long-term war of attrition in Europe, so we have to get real about the implications for our defence budget,” he said.
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Defense is a core issue among Conservative MPs and party members. Hunt, who ran against Johnson in the 2019 leadership contest, is also positioning himself as the pro-business candidate in the race. He’s said he would not only scrap the increase in corporation tax, but immediately reduce the levy to 15%.
Hunt said Esther McVey, the pro-Brexit former work and pensions minister, would be his deputy prime minister — a bid to broaden his appeal among voters in northern England.
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