How higher defence spending reaches the public finances

How could a British government raise defence and health spending without returning to the headline tax rates of the 1960s and 1970s?

The suggested routes are increased borrowing and indirect taxes that reach consumers through prices rather than their income-tax bill.

The question combines a proposed five-per-cent defence commitment with promises of more health spending and benefits. Borrowing is identified as one way to finance those commitments without raising headline tax rates. Indirect taxation is the other route suggested. Its effect can reach households through prices in shops, even when their direct tax bill does not visibly change. This is an outline of possible funding methods, rather than a costed plan for the proposed spending.