Even the Leftist BBC thinks that Starmer’s warmongering is unaffordable.

The government’s new defence spending plans give further detail on something we already knew — the UK’s defence budget is going up.

This, inevitably, will impact spending elsewhere. But it’s far from the only pressure on the UK’s public finances.

Today has come with lots of numbers — not least the government’s ambition [for military spending] to reach 3% of GDP.

In making a Panorama documentary about the UK’s public finances, I found lots of other figures too. In 1948, the percentage of people over the age of 65 was around 11%. Today, it is close to double that.

The UK’s annual debt interest payments are now over £100 billion — that’s roughly double the defence budget

And spending on health-related benefits for working-age people has increased by 47% from where it was before the pandemic.

Defence spending, an ageing population, the level of national debt and the changing nature of the welfare state are all exerting pressure on our public finances. This is part of the context in which the government is taking decisions about spending.

The other big problem for Starmer’s warmongering is the paucity of military personnel he has, and their number has been rapidly falling, see earlier posts.