Friends speak out against hike in military spending
‘The increasingly visible effects of climate change act as a reminder that weapons cannot keep us safe.'
Quakers have criticised the government for pledging to increase military spending by £11bn over the next five years.
The announcement, made on 15 March as part of the budget, came as Friends start to mobilise for the Global Campaign on Military Spending, with days of witness planned for next month. Earlier, on 12 March, the government announced an initial £5bn rise in military spending over two years.
Criticising the decision, the Northern Friends Peace Board (NFPB) highlighted research by Scientists on Global Responsibility (SGR) showing ‘eight reasons why military spending shouldn’t be increased’. These include already-significant boosts to military spending such as an increase of more than £24bn over four years in November 2020, the largest increase for seventy years.
SGR said that the military increase would also ensure the UK comfortably exceeded the NATO spending target of two per cent GDP. In addition, the UK committed £2.3bn to the Ukrainian armed forces during the first year of the war, with a similar amount pledged for the second year. Global problems such as poverty and climate change ‘fuel insecurity’ and urgently need more funding, it said.
The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) – which includes many Quakers – also argued that ‘more ammunition and submarines will do nothing to protect people from the real security threats they face, including environmental catastrophe and the cost-of-living crisis’.
The PPU pointed out that, while successive government security reviews have listed climate change as a security priority, ministers have continued to ignore this and increasingly equate security with preparations for war. The UK’s military spending far outstrips the budget for reducing carbon emissions, it said, adding: ‘Hunt’s increase in military spending by £11bn over five years contrasts with his pledge of £20bn over twenty years for “low-carbon energy projects” – a much slower rate of increase.’
Jonathan Maunders, a PPU spokesperson, said: ‘The increasingly visible effects of climate change act as a reminder that weapons cannot keep us safe. The Covid-19 vaccine response showed us what can happen when people around the world work together for common aims and the climate emergency should be no different.’
Quaker Peace & Social Witness and NFPB hosted an online session on 21 March to discuss how Quakers can support the Global Campaign on Military Spending.
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