STUC delegates backed calls for an end to the recent ramping-up of arms spending by almost 20 per cent in just three years.

Responding to motions submitted by Clydebank, Glasgow, Midlothian, North Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire TUCs, the general council agreed a statement today that committed congress to being an “educator for, and a campaigner on, peace.”

Military spending now accounts for 2.1 per cent of Britain’s GDP, exceeding the 2 per cent target set for Nato members, reflecting the priorities of a government and a Tory Defence Secretary — Grant Shapps — who recently stated we have moved from a “post-war to a pre-war world.”