UK Government Weighs Delaying Spending Review and Defence Spending Timeline
The UK government is considering delaying its spending review until next autumn, together with a decision on the timetable for raising defence spending to 3% of GDP, The Times reported on 6 October. Meeting the 3% target would cost roughly an extra £10 billion a year.
Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), commented on the trade-offs: a delay would let the government plan with clearer economic data, but would prolong budget uncertainty for departments and complicate long-term projects.
Government sources denied that anything had been 'delayed', saying no date for the spending review had ever been formally set. Even so, the debate over defence funding and overall fiscal space has become one of the month's central political topics in London.
Chancellor John Healey is due to deliver the autumn Budget on 28 October. Analysts expect the allocation of funds between defence, health and local government to be among the most closely watched elements.
(Source: AJ Bell summary of The Times reporting, 6 October)
Source: AJ Bell summary of The Times reporting, 6 October
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 英国陆军“挑战者2”主战坦克，公共领域（Wikimedia Commons）
