WELFARE not warfare was the demand of a Stop the War Coalition fringe meeting at the Scottish TUC today.

Clydebank trades council delegate and GMB rep Nathan Hennebry said the case for a just transition away from fossil fuels was widely accepted in the trade union movement — “but where’s the just transition away from warfare, something completely unsustainable for mankind, never mind workers here in Scotland?”

Mr Hennebry highlighted the flashpoints that could begin a wider world war, from the carve-up of Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad through the war in Ukraine and growing US aggression against China, and warned of growing militarism in British politics including the return of calls for conscription to the armed forces.

Labour MSP Mercedes Villalba slammed the callousness of “senior members of the Washington security establishment discussing air strikes with emojis in Signal group chats, and... artificial intelligence identifying who and what to destroy.

“Working-class life is considered ever more expendable, often at the flick of a switch,” she warned.

She pointed out that Britain’s Labour government claims not to be able to afford child benefit, winter fuel payments or compensation for the Waspi women, and is forcing 50,000 more children into poverty with its social security cuts, but continued to raise arms spending. “We’re told there’s no magic money tree, but to quote my friend Coll McCail, there’s certainly a magic missile tree.”

Dundee trades council chair Mike Arnott spoke of the horrific war on the Palestinian people being fought with British assistance and weaponry, calling for a movement as huge as that against the Iraq war and for walkouts from workplaces and schools.