LABOUR Prime Minister Keir Starmer banged the war drums against Russia yesterday and claimed that he intends to make Britain ‘battle-ready’.
‘Russia is already menacing our skies and our waters, and threatening cyber-attacks, so this is a real threat we’re dealing with,’ he said.
Speaking at the BAE Systems weapons factory in Glasgow, he announced the opening of six new weapons factories around the country ‘to make Britain safer and stronger, a battle-ready, armour-clad nation with the strongest alliances and the most advanced capabilities’.
He said a ‘Strategic Defence Review’ will be published shortly which will say that Britain must be ready to fight a war in Europe or the Atlantic.
The 130-page document will call for a move to ‘war-fighting readiness’ to ‘deter Russian aggression’ in Europe and will presage increases in stockpiles of ‘arms and support equipment’.
Starmer announced that he will build 12 new ‘nuclear-powered attack submarines’ and spend £15 billion on its ‘warhead programme’.
He warned: ‘I think that’s a common feeling across Europe and more broadly there is greater instability on defence and security than there has been for many, many years, and greater threats, and that’s obviously having a direct impact back into the United Kingdom. Hence the review.
‘Principles of war-fighting readiness and integrating the UK’s forces are at the heart of the review,’ Starmer said, adding: ‘We have to recognise the world has changed, and if the world has changed we need to be ready.’
The Stop the War Coalition responded that raising military spending while cutting welfare is ‘grotesque’.
Chris Nineham, Stop the War vice chair, said: ‘Increasing defence spending to up to 3% of GDP, procuring more and more weapons of war, including the commissioning of 12 new attack submarines, investing £1.5bn for more munitions factories and £15bn for nuclear weapons production, and all the while slashing welfare, is simply grotesque.
‘Keir Starmer, John Healey and the Ministry of Defence have spent the days before the release of this spending review painting a picture of the most heightened military and security threat since the end of the Cold War.
‘They say they want the UK to move to “war-fighting readiness”, but talking up a new era of threat while tying an ailing economy even more to military production only makes the threat of war more likely.
‘The reality is that Russia’s economy is roughly the size of Spain and Putin is vastly outnumbered militarily by NATO powers. He has barely occupied 18% of Ukraine and poses no threat to Warsaw or Berlin, let alone London.
‘The pledges in this review are even more grotesque given the eye-watering record profits being made by the arms manufacturers and their shareholders as a result of the endless conflicts which are only perpetuated by these levels of increased defence spending – paid for with our tax pounds and by slashing the welfare budget.
‘The claim that building more munitions factories and submarines will help British jobs should fool no one.
‘As the Alternative Defence Review explains, military spending generates a smaller economic multiplier than any other public investments, meaning it generates less overall economic activity and fewer secondary benefits than spending on essential services and infrastructure.’
Scotland first minister, John Swinney, denounced Starmer’s announcements, saying: ‘I don’t support the possession or use of nuclear weapons.’
However, the leadership of the Unite union disgracefully welcomed Labour’s war plans.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘Given the global challenges we face; it is right that defence spending is increasing. The government now needs to buy new British built Typhoons and not American F-35s. A failure to order new Typhoons could result in the loss of jobs and skills needed to develop the next generation fast fighter, which the government is committed to.’