Government to announce above-inflation pay rise for Britain’s armed forces but STILL have nothing to say on £28bn defence black hole

The government is set to announce another wage rise, this time above inflation, despite still remaining silent on the £28bn financial black hole.

The salary increase, which is said to be announced in the coming days, will be the third since the Labor Party came to power in 2024, and all levels will be paid according to the living wage.

Once completed, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has confirmed that the increase will be backdated to 1 April, the start of the Armed Forces pay year.

A Ministry of Defense spokesman said the Armed Forces Pay Review Board (AFPRB) had submitted its report and recommendations on the increase. They added that details of the rise would be ‘confirmed shortly’.

Details of the pay rise come as new figures from the Armed Forces Continuing Attitude Survey show morale among military personnel remains poor.

According to the findings, four out of every ten personnel are generally satisfied with their service life. Although this rate increased by 3 percent compared to last year, it remains below the 50 percent recorded by the Conservative Party in 2021.

Satisfaction with wages was also recorded as 37 percent this year; It remained well below its peak of 50 percent in 2010.

In addition, the satisfaction rate with the responses to maintenance and repair requests was 39 percent this year.

While this is a sharp increase from 19 per cent in 2023, current satisfaction remains below the peak of 46 per cent reported by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2014.

And news of the salary increase comes at a time when the government’s financial problems are mounting.

On Friday, it emerged that Labour’s long-delayed investment plan will not materialize as expected next week.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been wrangling with ministers for months about how to fill an estimated £28bn funding gap over the next four years.

Despite growing alarm over the threats the UK faces from abroad, the Treasury has sought to limit the amount of extra cash it needs to raise.

There were briefings where the plan could be unveiled when the House of Commons returns from recess next week, but sources have downplayed the possibility.

NATO has expressed concerns that the package will not be ready for the summit in July, when US President Donald Trump will increase pressure on the alliance.

Tensions rose after Mr Trump criticized his partners for refusing to support his war against Iran.

Rachel Reeves’ Treasury is trying to limit the amount of extra cash it needs to raise for defence, despite growing alarm over threats facing the country

But pensions minister Torsten Bell confirmed the document would be published ‘when it is ready’.

Speaking to Sky News he said: ‘So if you are talking about the defense investment plan, work on this continues.

‘We want this to come out as soon as possible but we need to get the details right, but that doesn’t prevent the already rising levels of defense spending.’

From next year, defense spending is expected to rise to 2.7 percent of GDP; This figure is expected to rise to 3.5 percent by 2035 as the geopolitical climate remains volatile.

Former Labor defense minister Lord George Robertson slammed the Government’s ‘corrosive indifference’ on defense spending at a conference last month and claimed Sir Keir was unwilling to ‘make the necessary investment’.

The Conservatives are understood to be pushing for a vote on an amendment to the Armed Forces Bill that would require Mr Healey to present his defense investment plan to the House of Commons and House of Lords within a month of the bill receiving Royal Assent.

Lord George Robertson, a former Labor defense minister and co-author of the Strategic Defense Review, addressed the Government’s ‘corrosive indifference’ on defense spending at a conference last month and accused the Prime Minister of being unwilling to ‘make the necessary investment’.

This will take place on 2 June, a year to the day since Labor published its Strategic Defense Review.

The pay rise will be the third since Labor comes to power in 2024 and all grades will be paid at a living wage

The review promised an end to the ‘drainage’ of the UK armed forces, but the investment plan setting out defense spending priorities over the next decade (originally due to arrive in the autumn of last year) has not yet been published.

Shadow Defense Secretary David Reed said Labor had ‘no plan’ to keep Britain safe.

He said: ‘The government reportedly faces a £28bn black hole in the defense budget as it opts for higher welfare spending rather than strengthening our military at the most dangerous moment in a generation.

‘We will vote to force Labor to finally publish its long-delayed defense investment plan.’