After six weeks of campaigning around the country, the General Election is behind us and we have a new government. MPs have taken their oaths and started the work of setting up their offices – so it’s a good time to reflect on what the new parliament may hold in store for those of us campaigning to reduce military spending. At first glance a Labour majority over 150, elected on a manifesto which had an ambition to increase military spending to 2.5% of GDP, might not feel like good news – but there are many bright spots in the election results to give us hope for the future.
The Green Party won three additional seats to the one previously held by Caroline Lucas in Brighton and now retained by Sian Berry: in Bristol Central, North Herefordshire and Waveney Valley in Suffolk. Caroline Lucas worked with GCOMS-UK over many years and we look forward to this continuing with the new intake.
The ongoing Israeli bombardment of Gaza also had an impact at the polls, with Labour losing seats in Blackburn, Leicester, Birmingham and Dewsbury to Independent candidates who had run on a pro-Gaza platform. While not much is known about the broader views of these candidates, the other successful Independent MP, Jeremy Corbyn, has invited them to work together and there are early signs that this will happen.
Although the Scottish National Party suffered significant loses, they will still send 9 MPs to Westminster, where they will be joined by 4 Plaid Cymru MPs who picked up the seat of Anglesey. Plaid were the only party who stood on a manifesto opposing an increase in military spending in the coming parliament.
There are also a number of Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs re-elected who have been willing to engage with arguments around military spending and have supported our work in the past.
The next Parliament will see the government and MPs face a number of challenges, especially with strict spending limits which will continue to see public spending squeezed as military spending in the UK continues at the rate of £100,000 per minute. Under these circumstances, and with Labour set to undertake a defence review within a year – the need for voices for peace has never been greater. GCOMS-UK looks forward to working with MPs from any party who want to challenge the narrative around the need for ever-increasing military spending.
