£86 billion UK investment plan to focus on science, tech, defence by 2030

THE UK government has announced plans to invest £86 billion in science, technology, and defence by 2030. The announcement comes days before it outlines its broader spending plan for the coming years.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already introduced cuts to public budgets in recent months, citing tight fiscal conditions. She has also approved more borrowing for investment, enabling a total of £113bn in investment by the end of the decade.

As part of this plan, £86bn will be directed towards "turbo-charging our fastest growing sectors, from tech and life sciences, to advanced manufacturing and defence," the government said in a statement.

According to The Times newspaper, Reeves is also expected to announce a funding increase of up to £30bn for the National Health Service on Wednesday, when she presents the government's full review of public spending.

The government said the £86bn investment will focus on "people's priorities: health, security and the economy."

The plan includes the development of "innovation clusters" across the country and will give local government leaders new powers to decide how their funding is used, it said.

Reeves aims to use this spending to boost growth, which remains slow and could be affected further by the trade war launched by US president Donald Trump.

Earlier this week, the government said the review would also include a proposal to double investment in public transport in urban areas of England to more than £15 billion by 2030.

The Ministry of Defence is expected to receive a budget increase as part of Wednesday's review. However, other departments will face more spending cuts, in addition to those announced in March.

Expected areas for cuts include support for disabled people and general government operating costs.

On Saturday, thousands of people gathered in central London to protest against the anticipated spending reductions. Many carried placards that read, "tax the rich, stop the cuts -- welfare not warfare."

(With inputs from agencies)