Nigel Smith
On June 2, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the country’s 2025 Strategic Defence Review for the next decade. In a press conference in the arms manufacturing BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, he layed out its main goals. Some key take-aways are:
- The UK will focus on NATO first, making its “biggest contribution” to the alliance since it began in 1949.
- The main goal of the armed forces will be “war-fighting readiness”.
- The Royal Navy will use a mix of aircraft, drones, ships, and submarines to patrol the North Atlantic and “and beyond”.
- The British Army will be made “10-times more lethal” by using air defence systems, artificial intelligence, long-range weapons, and land-based drone groups.
- The Royal Air Force will get upgrades with new F-35 fighter jets and pilotless aircrafts.
- 12 new attack submarines will be built under the AUKUS agreement with Australia and the US, with a new one delivered every 18 months.
- A fully-trained strategic reserve, ready to mobilise at any time.
- The number of Armed Forces cadets will rise by 30%, and a new optional “gap year” cadet programme will be launched for young people leaving school or college.
- At least six new weapons and explosives factories will be built, supported by £1.5 billion in government funding.
These policies are in line with the turn that is happening during the last years in all Western imperialist countries. Re-armament programmes (like ReArmEU), ramping up of “war threats” rhetoric, attempt to militarise the population, especially the youth.
A break needed
But not all political discourse in the UK falls into this line. The Alternative Defence Review, published on 30th May this year, in advance of the UK Governments Defence Review, reveals the increasingly xenophobic and nationalistic approach of the Labour Party. The Alternative Defence Review is published by an alliance of trades unionists and academics, including Alex Gordon (ex RMT President), Kate Hudson (CND Vice President) Paul Rogers (Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University), Michael Burke (economist) and ten others.
The report calls for a radical break with successive UK governments’ security and defence policies, which fuel global instability, undermine international law, harm the environment and divert investment from public services and social infrastructure towards subsidies for the global arms industry.
The ideas represented by this report of “welfare not warfare” are obviously welcomed. At the same time we should note that their general perspective of capitalism with a “friendlier”, more peaceful and sustainable face are also obviously out of touch with today’s realities, in which all capitalist blocs are scrambling for more in order to overcome their crises.
Jingoistic Rhetoric
Besides the attacks made against the average UK citizen through benefit cuts, cuts to education provision, the NHS etc, Starmer and Defence Secretary, John Healeyalso trumpet the language of confrontation stirred up across the Atlantic by Donald Trump. Trump makes the demand that Europe and the UK increase defence spending and of course the UK falls into line.
When interviewed on the BBC’s Today programme this week and asked if the UK would send troops into Lithuania if the Russians invaded, Starmer refused to rule this out or to attempt to minimise the likelihood of such an event. Instead, he framed his answer in a way that would suggest that this might be an imminent possibility, “given the Russian invasion of Ukraine”, he said, ”we cannot ignore the threat that Russia poses… Russia has shown in recent weeks that it is not serious about peace and we have to be ready.” The Defence Secretary recently stated that, “the defence review is the first of its kind as there have been thousands of submissions from experts, individual organisations and MPs. 62 recommendations from the Strategic Defence Review will be implemented…We are in a new era of threat, which demands a new era for UK defence…the UK is committed to the largest increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.”
Threats?
This ramping-up of the threat to the UK from Russia is clear. Beyond that there are suggestions the cooperation on defence between Russia and China could lead to a global confrontation. China’s ambitions towards Taiwan are quoted as evidence for this with Xi Jinping’s support for the “one China principle” and a recent claim that, “no-one can stop the historical trend towards unification,” as evidence. However, the language used by Xi is moderate in comparison to that used by the West and China’s ambition for a unification of China and Taiwan is a long-standing objective and represents nothing new.
What trade unionists and others need to understand is that we cannot be drawn into accepting that an invasion of Europe by Russia or global imperialist expansion by China is likely in the medium term. These war cries by western media and governments do not have a factual base, and are used to justify the imperialist aggressive deeds of the US and European capitalism. Of course, China and Russia, as all imperialist countries, have their own ambitions and agenda. They, too, ramp up nationalist feelings in their population against the threat by Western imperialism. In this situation, the only force that can put a break to this race that leads to war confrontation is the working class in both camps.
Unfortunately, Sharron Graham, the General Secretary of the UK’s largest union, UNITE, has fallen in with the sabre rattling. She is recently quoted as saying that the UK should “commit to invest in UK jobs”. UNITE describes the announcement of new nuclear submarines as “a great start”, but is also urging the government to commit to new orders of helicopters and fighter jets. Graham is quoted as saying that, “Countries that want to do us harm won’t wait and nor can the UK,”. This support for defence spending is pushed by a union that has thousands of members in the defence industry. However, instead of championing some kind of green transition and diversification in manufacturing for peace, she succumbs to the pressure to build her membership in the short-term and abandon humanitarian principles as she did in not forthrightly opposing weapons being supplied to Israel for use against the Palestinians. Trade unionists have to see beyond the lessons handed down by government and look to the greater needs of the population and its future well-being.
Jobs?
In a recent meeting on the subject of the threat of war, organised by Calderdale Trades Union Council, two of the authors of the Alternative Defence Review, Alex Gordon and Paul Rogers, were clear that the UK is exaggerating the threat of war and that increased defence spending increases the threat of war, rather than reducing it. The abandonment of a diplomatic approach, especially towards China, was used as an example of a danger to peace. Being tied to US imperialism’s chariot, which is becoming more aggressive as it loses its global domination privilege, does not serve UK working class interests.
Moreover, in building nuclear war-heads and submarines the UK takes resources away from the NHS and useful industries and funnels them towards high tech industries, which produce a limited number of jobs relative to the scale of investment.
Starmer suggests that building five new arms factories could create 30,000 jobs in the arms industry. However, the spending of £15 billion on 12 nuclear submarines could be used to provide 405,000 nurses in the NHS. A recent report by Greenpeace on the impact of military spending in Germany, Italy and Spain shows the assumption that increased military spending would produce more jobs is false. The study compared the £1 billion investment in the military and a £1 billion investment in education, health and the environment. It found that money for schools, hospitals and the climate created between two and four times as many jobs.
Dangers
The “war readiness” approach of the current Labour government, once-more illustrates its lurch to the right, nationalism and patriotism. The dangers to the working-class and peace are real and direct. Recently, the US and UK entered into serious brinkmanship with Russia in launching long-range missiles into Russia. These missiles could only be operated by US and British personnel and were therefore a direct act of aggression. The US and UK chose to ignore warnings from Russia, at great risk to peace, for the sake of proving their military determination. This is a dangerous precedent which should not be repeated.
The workers of the world need to see beyond the state’s attempts to find enemies abroad. Obviously, any nation has the right to defend itself in case of a foreign power invading and attempting to dominate local peoples and cultures. However, the approach by the UK seems aimed at increasing the potential of the British military towards offensive, rather than defensive actions.
Increasing the percentage of GDP from 2.3% to 2.5% and later to 3% will be paid for by increased attacks on worker’s rights and the rights of the British people. The military already spends considerable sums on propaganda in schools, public displays of power and patriotic rituals. The UK state tries to increase the thirst for war amongst our youth by brutalising and lying to them. According to a Gallup poll, the number of British people willing to fight a war for their country stands at 27% – around the European median average. However, according to an authoritative YouGov poll conducted by The Times, only 11% of 18 to 27 year olds were willing to fight and die for their country. Senior military figures have described these figures as, “a wake-up call”. General Sir Patrick Sanders, ex head of the British Army, responded by saying “It must lead to a concerted effort to change attitudes in a way that the next generation appreciates the reality of the challenges we now face as a country, which impact on our security at home.” The general’s interest, as is the interest of the UK state, is to maintain Britain’s position of military strength, in order for the UK big businesses to be able to extract wealth from other parts of the world. The UK has the sixth largest defence force on the planet with, what is in reality diminishing economic strength.
Reforms?
UK society needs to concentrate on increasing the happiness and prosperity of its people, be open to other cultures and forge links of peace and working class cooperation across the globe.
When asked if there could be an end to war under capitalism at the recent meeting in Calderdale mentioned earlier, Paul Rogers, a left of centre, humanitarian and social democrat had to admit that he could see little prospect of global peace under capitalism. When asked if a new party of the working class could be part of the solution to the current dire situation, he agreed that this would be desirable, but couldn’t imagine how it could be achieved. He positioned climate change as the main threat to humanity, with war a close second. Some reformists, such as Rogers, are forced to face the reality that reforming capitalism is a lost cause and that we need to change the system. Academics of the mainstream will not lead the changes that need to be made and will be overtaken by those with more imagination, who are beginning to cohere plans for a new working class party to fight both the drive to war and the crushing threat of climate catastrophe.
