Sam Legg from Yorkshire CND reports on a street stall as part of GDAMS 2025
“Wouldn’t it be a beautiful day if the schools had all the money they needed and the air force had to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.”
On Sunday 4th May, we collaborated with the Leeds Food Not Bombs group for a stall as part of #GDAMS2025 to raise awareness about the lunacy that our government increased military spending by £2.2 billion in April. This now puts military spending at 2.36% of GDP, meaning we have seen a total increase of £5.1bn on war and nuclear weapons since the Autumn Statement in October 2024.
At the same time the government is making devastating cuts to vital benefits for disabled people, and plans further public sector cuts. When food banks are overwhelmed, public services are crumbling, NHS waiting lists are at record highs, and families are drowning in debt, the government’s obsession with militarisation shows that it is morally bankrupt.
We held this stall dressed in military garb to attract attention, akin to the early Food Not Bombs stalls that highlighted how ridiculous it is that schools need to do bake sales to sustain themselves whilst the military would never need to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.
