MORNING STAR readers in Glasgow asked today why there is always money for war as public services face hundreds of millions in spending cuts and millions languish in poverty.

The Star’s spring conference once again packed out the STUC headquarters in Bridgeton, Glasgow, where discussions in three sessions ranged from the crisis in public spending itself and visions for future public ownership to the rise in bellicose rhetoric and military spending.

The conference was opened by STUC president Mike Arnott before immediately plunging into the challenges faced by workers in health and social care, a sector in disarray.