Published: 10 April 2021 – First day of the Global Days of Action on Military Spending
The GCOMS UK network make the following response to the UK Government’s Global Britain in a Competitive Age: Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, published on March 16, 2021, and the related Defence Command Paper, Defence in a Competitive Age (22 March). We have grave concerns about both documents.
We reject:
- the main assumptions of these policies, notably that the complexities of the geo-political environment require the UK to boost its hostile posture through increased investment, especially in high-tech weaponry. We believe this posture is already exacerbating international tensions, in particular with China and Russia. It will stimulate an arms race to dominate other states through mastery of a whole range of emerging technologies, as well as boosting older systems such as nuclear weapons.
- the 40% increase in the cap on nuclear warheads, taking the UK’s potential capacity to 260. We join countless other organisations and experts in arguing that this constitutes an act of vertical proliferation violating both the spirit of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the UK’s responsibilities as a Depositary State. It will only encourage others to break their own commitments, thus engendering a dangerous spiral of mutual threat.
- the increase in military spending (already announced in November 2020), amounting to £24 billion on top of existing budget levels. This represents an average £6bn increase over the four years 2021-25. This is the largest percentage increase in over 70 years.
- the cut in the aid budget (also announced in November) reducing it from 0.7% to 0.5% of Britain’s gross national income: a reduction of about £3bn this year. This is also likely to mean at least 50% reduction in UK overseas bilateral aid. The decrease to 0.5% of GNI will mean the cumulative cut in the aid budget could amount to over £25bn by 2025 – with disastrous impacts on the world’s most marginalised communities.
We call for:
- parliamentary rejection of this review.
We urge our elected representatives to refuse the above proposals, and to prepare the ground for a wholly different policy framework, looking at the subject from the angle of human security rather than a spurious notion of ‘Global Britain’ that appears to be rooted in outdated imperial pretensions.
- reversal of the new warheads cap.
We believe now is the time to begin serious discussion of the UK’s participation in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. At the very least the UK should commit to attending the 1st Conference of Parties to the Treaty. Following the statement from the UN Secretary-General’s office saying that the UK increase in nuclear warheads constitutes a breach of its obligations under Article VI of the NPT, the Government must explain how its plan is consistent with its treaty obligation to make progress towards the elimination of nuclear weapons. It should also undertake to make a much more positive contribution to the NPT Review Conference in August.
- reversal of the increases in military spending.
Plans for new high-tech weapons programmes, utilising AI, robotics, offensive cyber capabilities, and the further militarisation of space should be reconsidered in favour of approaches involving threat reduction, disarmament and cooperative solutions.
- allocation of the money saved to urgent programmes addressing the most serious global crises:
- health care, including pandemics;
- climate change and biodiversity loss:
- global inequalities; and immediate restoration of the full aid budget (0.7% of GNI).
