A hard-hitting report from the National Education Union (NEU), The Security We Choose, sets out in a very clear way how successive governments have prioritised military spending over investment in education. At the heart of the report is a clear truth: austerity across public services is not a consequence of economic scarcity, but a deliberate political choice.
The report also tackles what security really means, which is a vital debate in a political context which so often sees security only in terms of military might or how many more billions can be promised for spending. The NEU has been at the forefront of campaigning for increased funding for schools and education across the country and improvements around the world.
The report shows that more than a decade of austerity in the UK have left schools buckling under immense pressure. The NEU says that mainstream school spending power in England has plummeted by £4.5 billion in real terms since 2010, pushing per-pupil spending to its lowest level in 15 years. Classrooms are understaffed, buildings are deteriorating, and a majority of schools are forced to rely on grassroots fundraising just to cover basic operational costs.
Yet, as politicians line up to back ever-increasing budgets for the military —including proposals that could hike spending to a staggering 3.5% of GDP—the opportunity cost becomes glaring. The NEU calculates that funding this military target would cost an extra £36 billion every year.
To put that figure into perspective, diverting just a fraction of those planned military funds could completely transform the UK’s educational landscape:
- £4.5 billion would reverse real-terms losses to school spending power in England.National Education Union
- £3.7 billion would completely eliminate the local authority Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) funding gap.National Education Union
- £13.8 billion would clear the entire maintenance backlog for crumbling school buildings nationwide.National Education Union
Instead of funding these critical domestic priorities, resources are funnelled into the military, leaving the most vulnerable children to shoulder the heaviest burden.
The report also examines the international arena, revealing a catastrophic humanitarian cost. Global aid for education has been slashed—crashing by 80% in the UK since 2016—while international education support faces a projected 30% drop.
The interconnected nature of militarism and educational collapse is stark: one in five of the world’s children now live within 50km of an active armed conflict. Globally, attacks on educational institutions surged by 50% across 2024–2025 compared to previous years, turning schools—traditionally safe havens—into targets or military barracks.
The math of militarism is staggering. The NEU highlights that just 1.5 days of global military spending in 2025 would have been enough to fund an entire year of global international aid to education. Furthermore, delivering 12 years of education to every child in low- and lower-middle-income countries would cost less than a quarter of what the world’s militaries burn through in a single decade.
The Security We Choose challenges the narrow, militaristic definition of national security that dominates Westminster. The NEU puts forward an alternative vision that true security is rooted in social cohesion, well-funded public services, resilient communities, and international development—not in escalating arms races that destabilise the globe.
There are similar arguments which could be made across every sector in the UK. As the Chancellor prepares to deliver his Budget this week we hope that issues like these will be at the forefront of his mind.
