§ Mr. Trotterasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the percentage of gross national product devoted to defence spending in each of the last 20 years, and the percentage which such spending bore to total public spending in each year.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettThe percentages are as follows:
Military defence expenditure (national accounts definition) as a percentage of: Calendar Year GNP at factor cost Total public expenditure 1954 … 10.0 24.2 1955 … 9.1 21.9 1956 … 8.8 21.7 1957 … 8.2 20.4 1958 … 7.5 18.7 1959 … 7.3 18.0 1960 … 7.1 17.3 1961 … 7.0 16.7 1962 … 7.2 16.7 1963 … 6.9 16.2 1964 … 6.7 15.6 1965 … 6.7 14.9 1966 … 6.6 14.4 1967 … 6.8 13.8 1968 … 6.5 12.8 1969 … 5.8 11.6 1970 … 5.7 11.3 1971 … 5.7 11.4 1972 … 5.6 11.3 1973 … 5.4 10.6 Sources: National Income and Expenditure Blue Books, CSO
The definition of military defence used in the National Income and Expenditure Accounts is somewhat wider than the coverage of the defence budget. Comparisons on a defence budget basis are not available for the full 20-year period.