Boris Johnson’s defence announcement is a novelty in that it mentioned the numbers first, with the words and precise policy to be announced at a later date. The UK government is to spend an extra £16.5 billion above the current defence budget plan over the next four years. With previous pledges to raise spending by half a per cent annually in real terms, it means an uplift in cash terms of around £24.1 billion in cash terms between now and the next election due in 2024.