0:00
Defense spending is becoming a very
0:02
serious problem for the Prime Minister.
0:04
But with the war in Iran, Trump's
0:06
threats against NATO, and Russia's
0:08
continued attacks on Ukraine, the
0:09
economic dilemma facing Sir Keir
0:11
Starmer's government is now stark. You
0:14
can see here why political commentators
0:16
and military officials are trembling at
0:19
hearing about Trump's threats to leave
0:21
NATO. The US spends around three and a
0:23
half times on defense as the UK,
0:25
Germany, and France combined. It alone
0:28
accounts for about 60% of total
0:30
expenditure across the 32-member
0:32
alliance. That financial might is
0:35
clearly of huge importance when experts
0:37
talk about security and things like
0:39
deterrence, or when they talk about
0:41
building enough capabilities to fend off
0:43
cyberattacks, or when they talk about
0:46
protecting shipping passing through the
0:47
Strait of Hormuz, or protecting undersea
0:50
cables that connect Britain to
0:52
continental Europe. NATO economists
0:54
don't use mass expenditure as a
0:56
reference when comparing contribution
0:58
levels by member states. They use
1:00
spending as a share of GDP, and that's
1:03
only fair. It's more of a political tool
1:05
to get every government to play fair
1:07
while reaping the benefits of peace.
