The UK Military Budget

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A letter from Symon Hill (Peace Pledge Union) to the Morning Star last November 30th denounces the refusal to cut defence funds in Britain.

The Tory opposition to defence cuts fails to mention that Britain already has the seventh highest military budget in the world, according to an information published by the Morning Star on November 28. Symon Hill says that it is a shame that they don’t show the same willingness to resist cuts to services that really make us sake: fire services, rape crisis centres or the welfare budget.

Symon Hill clearly states that “Defence” is an euphemism for war. Increasing the size of the armed forces will not make anyone in Britain any safer, rather it helps the British Establishment in its colonial and corporate interests. It is therefore disappointing that Labour shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith has opposed to cuts to military spending. It is good that she has pointed out the cost of the Trident renewal, but she sadly failed to urge the government to divert military money to things that would offer real defence from real threats, and that would involve challenging the underlying causes of war, such as powerty, global inequality and climate change.

Symon Hill coordinates Peace Pledge Union, the UK affiliate of War Resisters International