Post-Brexit UK Economy May Shrink Defense Budget - Joint Security Committee

Post-Brexit UK economy, which has been forecasted to decline, will lead to a shrinking defense budget, parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy said in its report Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the research of the UK-based Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), UK GDP might be reduced by between 2.1 percent and 3.5 percent in 2019 as a result of Brexit.

"We [the committee] are concerned, however, that the armed forces will not be funded to fulfil the wideranging tasks described in the NSS & SDSR 2015 [report]. In addition, despite the Government’s commitment to NATO’s target of spending 2% of GDP on defence, the changed economic climate following the UK’s vote to leave the EU may see a real-terms reduction in the defence budget," the report dubbed National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (NSS & SDSR) read.

The committee goes to conclude that the consequences of Brexit for the national security has not been worked through in advance signifying "the prioritisation of political interests above national security."

On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the European Union. According to the final results, 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, decided to support Brexit, while about 16.1 million opposed it.