When they came into power, defense spending was 2.5%, and when they left power, it was 2.3%.

UK defence spending was around 2.4–2.5% of GDP in 2010, when the Conservative-led government took office, and had fallen to about 2.3% of GDP by 2024 (NATO definition) when Labour returned. The direction and end-point figure are accurate within normal rounding.

▸ House of Commons Library — UK defence spending (CBP-8175)

Checked Wed 1 Jul, 09:53 · Broadcast: PMQs: Prime Minister's Questions - 29 April 2026

Method note. Verdicts are anchored to the data of the sources cited next to each check, never a judgement on people. When the evidence is not enough, the result is “Unverifiable”; no claim is marked as unconfirmed without a primary source cited. The summary of the fact-checking method is public, and re-examined results go into the corrections log. How we work →

This verdict is digitally signed (Ed25519): anyone can verify its integrity offline with the signature proof →

Verdicts produced by an automated system, with the source cited and a digital signature; re-examined results go into the corrections log.

More fact-checks of “PMQs: Prime Minister's Questions - 29 April 2026”

Imprecise · Can the Prime Minister tell us how many more people are out of work and claiming Universal Credit since he took offic...

Imprecise · Why on his watch, for the first time ever, we are now spending more on welfare than we earn in income tax?

True · This is the Labour government that increased defense spending to the highest sustained spend since the Cold War.

True · Yesterday, we learned that the cost of government borrowing is now the highest in two decades.

All fact-checks of this broadcast → · Verified archive →