British trade unionists, in a very significant vote, have backed a motion overturning previous support for the government’s military spending hikes. The Wages not Weapons motion was proposed by the UCU union, with supported by unions include the RMT, NEU, CWU, FBU, and PCS. It was passed by 2,871,000 votes to 2,291,000.
This sends a strong message to the Starmer government to change direction away from its disastrous war drive, and instead to take a new approach that prioritises real common and human security – investing in saving lives not destroying them.
In an incredibly powerful debate, speakers in favour of the motion at TUC Congress included UCU’s Jo Grady, who said: “We are living in a country where thousands live on the streets, millions of kids go to school hungry, we have a mental health crisis but we do have billions for defence,” adding that Britain and other countries around the world were using investment in arms companies to sell weapons that are “raining down hell on earth” on some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
CND Vice-President Alex Gordon who spoke on behalf of the RMT union said rather than increasing skills and jobs in Britain, the ramp up in military spending was a “smash and grab” on public sector jobs and wages. “As Donald Trump has made abundantly clear, the jobs and profits from military spending in the UK will flow across the Atlantic” to buys US arms.
CWU ‘s Tony Kearns compared the government’s £58 billion military budget to the £11.3 billion spent on climate change mitigation with 35% of all research and development going to military technologies. “There is an alternative” he added, pointing to the Alternative Defence Review, supported by CND and the RMT union.
We thank all those who helped secure today’s victory for this motion and are proud that the ADR helped inform the debate.
Today’s vote follows the announcement by the government of new investment in British communities that host major arms companies. As CND has argued, we shouldn’t believe the hype on these “defence growth deals.” The jobs boost that the government is promoting is tiny in comparison to the huge levels of public funds being spent. According to the ADS, the aerospace, defence and space trade body, increasing military spending by £17 billion to 3% of GDP would add 50,000 jobs to a sector that already employs 180,000. That’s £346,000 per job. Obviously, people aren’t getting paid such huge salaries. So, this means that billions of pounds of public money is going directly into the profits of arms companies and their shareholders. In contrast, TFL procurement between 2023-2024 created 50,750 direct jobs at a cost of just £5.95 billion.
Sophie Bolt, General Secretary of CND said: “It’s clear that the government’s arguments to justify its war drive are crumbling. We need to build on this important vote today at the TUC and increase the pressure on Starmer to reverse the military spending hikes and halt this deadly war drive and nuclear expansionism that risks us all. The government needs instead to prioritise real human security. That means eradicating child poverty, serious action to end climate breakdown and rebuilding our public services. We need to take this debate out into the wider public now.”