#ukdefencespending

Starmer’s £15bn defence uplift is spilling into local politics as East Midlands road schemes face the axe.

Rutte is pressing Burnham before he takes power, turning NATO’s 3.5% pledge into an early test of UK defence policy.

No 10 wants Burnham to go beyond £13.5bn on defence, making war bonds an early test of Labour’s next economic line.