In the wake of his recent humanitarian visit to Cuba, RICHARD BURGON points to the now urgent need to defend the island’s political sovereignty and its right to self-determination
BORIS JOHNSON’S announcement that the Ministry of Defence will get £16.5 billion extra over the next four years — a 10 per cent increase in the arms budget — gives a simple message: the government would rather spend money on the possibility of a future war than the reality of our health and education.
If nurses are being offered no real pay rise after inflation but the money for rockets and bombs is going up, then the lesson is obvious.
The government thinks the “strength of the nation” is in fighter jets and tanks.
Expanding Britain’s nuclear capability increases the risk of nuclear confrontation. It does not keep us safe – it makes us a target, argues CAROL TURNER
British military spending is among the highest in the world, diverts scarce resources from far better causes and fuels international conflict. It’s time we made different choices, argues LIZ PAYNE
While politicians fixate on defence budgets, the real answers lie in peace-building and economic justice, says ALAN SIMPSON
US General Stanley McChrystal has been invited to advise on creating a ‘team of teams’ for healthcare transformation. His credentials? He previously ran interrogation bases where Iraqis were stripped naked and beaten, reports SOLOMON HUGHES


