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Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers his keynote speech during the Scottish Labour Party conference at the Scottish Exhibition Centre (SEC) in Glasgow, February 23, 2025
PRIME Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for a massive boost to military spending funded by slashing overseas aid was slammed as “grotesquely awful” by peace campaigners today.
He faced a wave of opposition after telling MPs that arms spending is to rise by more than £13 billion a year by 2027, with the aim of a further £30bn-plus hike in the next parliament.
The first tranche of this new arms race is to be funded by a huge cut to the overseas development budget, from 0.5 per cent of GDP to just 0.3 per cent, all justified by the three-year-old Ukraine war.
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
Under current policy, welfare cuts are just a small downpayment on future austerity, argues MICHAEL BURKE