Invest in peace not nukes! Lobby your MP on military spending

Today, the government announced its spring budget. It says it’s all about security and renewal. In reality it is doubling down on failed and dangerous policies of war and austerity. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is increasing military spending by £2.2 billion from April, which means a total increase of £5.1bn on war and nuclear weapons since the Autumn Statement in October 2024. This puts military spending at 2.36% of GDP. It will make the population poorer, particularly the most vulnerable in our society. It will fail to keep us secure, instead dragging us towards greater threats of war and the catastrophic use of nuclear weapons.

You can read our full statement here.

Invest in peace not nukes!

 
CND’s message to invest in public services not nuclear weapons is gaining really strong support. On Saturday, as we kicked off our national nuclear bases tour at the BAE Shipyard in Barrow, local people joined our protest and signed up to CND local groups! The protest called on the government to stop investing in nuclear weapons and instead work to bring renewable and varied forms of employment to towns like Barrow. The demonstration attracted lots of media attention, coming just days after a visit to both Faslane and Barrow by Keir Starmer and John Healey, where they ramped up nuclear threats to justify increases to military spending.

A gallery of images from Saturday’s protest can be found here. You can also watch CND’s appearance on ITV’s Granada Reports https://www.instagram.com/p/DHlTEYdCPmB/?link_id=2&can_id=b04759159353fb1fa16f32ea5bc75e30&s…; and read some coverage here and here.

14% of Britain’s military budget currently goes to Britain’s failing and immoral nuclear weapons programme. The ten-year budget for this weapons system has ballooned by £38.2 billion in just one year, pushing the total estimated cost of Britain’s nuclear weapons to at least £99.5bn. That’s £9.95bn every year—nearly £10bn annually—wasted on weapons of mass destruction that risk people and planet.

That’s why we’re asking you to challenge these wrong priorities and email your MP urging them to sign Early Day Motion 925. It calls for this hike in military spending to be reversed and “instead redirect funding into public services, international development, and climate action to build a safer, fairer, and more sustainable future for all.” Please also share among your networks and on social media, using the hashtag #BenefitsNotBombs.

No to US nukes in Britain – don’t make us a target!

The next stop on the nuclear bases tour will take place at RAF Lakenheath on Saturday 26 April, during the peace camp being organised by Lakenheath Alliance for Peace – of which CND is a member. Mounting evidence shows that the US plans to site deadly new nuclear bombs at the base. But the government is using the tired old, ‘national security’ argument to hide the nuclear threats. So it is absolutely critical that we shine a spotlight on this base to highlight that the majority of the population don’t want US nuclear weapons in Britain! We hope to see you there!