Tory Leadership Contest: Always A Magic Money Tree for War

Posted: 22nd July 2022

Newsletter – 22/07/22

Tory Leadership Contest: Always A Magic Money Tree for War

The next Prime Minister will be either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak. With cutting taxes and defence spending high on the priority list for Tory members, the cost of living crisis and desperate state of our public services are being ignored. The only area that will clearly see investment is the military, and the funds will be massive.

If Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is the victor military spending will skyrocket and Britain’s hawkish stand – be it towards Russia or China – will become ever more belligerent. Truss has committed to increase military spending to 3% of GDP by 2030, higher than Johnson’s 2.5% promise, and an enormous hike on the current 2.1%. She will push for a more assertive G7 as an “economic NATO” to “defend” the “free world” from the growing influence of China.

The arguably more cautious Sunak has declined to set “arbitrary targets” on military spending, but he is clear that NATO’s target – for member states to spend 2.0% of GDP on defence – is a “floor and not a ceiling” and has given his support to increasing Britain’s defence budget to 2.5% of GDP “over time”.

Whoever secures the Tory leadership, the military hawks will be the main winners. Opposition to the war party will need to be louder than ever in the coming months.

Stop the War Trade Union Conference – 21 Jan 2023

A date for your diary. On the 21st January 2023 Stop the War will be holding our first Trade Union Conference at the NEU Headquarters on Mabledon Place in London.

As a wave of strikes hits the country at a time when more money than ever is being pledged to the military it is vital that we build links between the trade union and anti-war movements. Full details to be confirmed soon.

Surround Parliament for Assange – 8 Oct

Will you be part of the human chain to free Assange? The Don’t Extradite Assange campaign need your help to be part of this huge protest in support of Julian Assange and a free press.

Sign up to pledge that you’ll be at Parliament on 8th October to be part of the chain of support that will go from the front of parliament over Westminster Bridge, along the South Bank of the Thames and back over Lambeth Bridge. Be a link in the solidarity chain!

Sign Up Here

NATO – A War Alliance Pamphlet

As the war in Ukraine develops into a proxy war between NATO and Russia, we must step up our campaigning against the NATO war alliance. As part of this campaign we’ve produced a new briefing analysing the past and future of this aggressive alliance.

We’ve sold over 700 copies already! Get yours now…

Get Your Copy of NATO: A War Alliance

This Week’s Anti-War Briefing