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Select committee: International Relations and Defence Committee

Government response to the 'Adjusting to new realities: rebalancing the UK-US partnership' report

Published 22 June 2026

International Relations and Defence Committee The UK’s future relationship with the US Report on parliament.uk ↗

At a glance

The government's response

This document responds to 3rd Report - Adjusting to new realities: rebalancing the UK-US partnership.

This is the government's response, published 22 June 2026.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government's response to the Committee's report states agreement, partial agreement or disagreement on each recommendation, disagreeing with Recommendation 2 and stating that the US "remains an indispensable partner" while pursuing "a balanced approach" with European partners.

  • On Recommendation 2, the government disagrees that it can no longer assume the US will guarantee European security. It recognises "the need for European partners to take greater responsibility for their own security" and pursues deepening US ties alongside strengthening UK capability and European cooperation.
  • On defence spending (Recommendation 3, Agree), the government is committed to 5% of GDP "by 2035". Further detail on the trajectory "will be set out at future fiscal events in line with economic and fiscal conditions".
  • On the Committee's call for a China strategy (Recommendation 7, Agree), the government says it will take "a consistent, long term and strategic approach", cooperating "where we can" and challenging "where we must".
  • The government partially agrees on hedging against US volatility (Recommendation 18) but says it "does not characterise the relationship with the US through the lens of political volatility".

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error

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