When they [the Conservatives] came into power defence spending was 2.5%, and they took it down to 2.3%.

Per NATO/House of Commons Library data, UK defence spending was around 2.5% of GDP in 2010 when the Conservative-led government took office and stood at about 2.3% by the time they left office in 2024. (The low point was actually nearer 2.0% around 2017-18 before rising again, so the start-to-end framing is broadly accurate.)

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

Checked Wed 1 Jul, 10:00 · Broadcast: PMQs: Prime Minister's Questions - 10 June 2026

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More fact-checks of “PMQs: Prime Minister's Questions - 10 June 2026”

True · We've increased defence spending from 2.3% to 2.6% in 2027. That's spending 270 billion pounds over this Parliament.

True · We've already signed 1,400 major defence contracts. 94% of those, Mr. Speaker, are with British businesses.

True · They cut the army from 100,000 down to 72,000.

Imprecise · They missed army recruitment targets every single year for 14 years.

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