Billions for bombs, pennies for people: Labour’s defence obsession continues the Tory legacy
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The BBC has reported what many of us already feared: Labour’s commitment to the UK’s military-industrial complex is not just intact — it’s accelerating.
According to Defence Secretary John Healey, there is “no doubt” that the UK will raise defence spending to three per cent of GDP by 2034.
This follows Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s February pledge to increase it to 2.5 per cent by 2027, with three per cent as the ultimate goal.
(It also serendipitously follows yesterday’s Vox Political article about the non-partisan nature of UK defence policy – which follows the same course no matter who is in power. It’s as if the arms industry is dictating policy…)
If the Office for Budget Responsibility is correct, that would mean an extra £17.3 billion in military spending in 2029-30 alone.
Meanwhile, other government departments like housing and local government remain locked in negotiations over how much money they will receive.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has yet to secure funding for building social and affordable homes.
The Home Office is still in early talks over its budget for vital public services like policing and border control.
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Continuity, not change
The announcement confirms what critics of Starmer’s Labour have long warned: the party is not offering an alternative to Tory militarism but entrenching it.
It is further evidence that, far from bringing the “Change” we were promised on Labour slogans throughout the 2024 general election campaign, the party is giving us nothing more than “Business As Usual”.
The new strategic defence review, due to be published on Monday, will be built on the assumption that three per cent GDP for defence is a done deal.
In other words:war planning comes first, while social planning is postponed or ignored.
The review is expected to cite a “new era of threat” and name Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea as key strategic challenges.
New military roles are being created to include drone operators and digital warfare specialists.
No doubt this will thrill defence contractors and arms manufacturers, who stand to gain handsomely from this high-tech arms race.
But where is the discussion of diplomacy?
Peace-building?
Conflict prevention?
Same agenda, different faces
Labour is carrying forward the same destructive agenda that defined the Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss, and Sunak years.
There is no meaningful break.
Just as the previous Conservative governments slashed welfare while boosting weapons budgets, Starmer’s government now proposes £17 billion more for the military while local councils and social housing wait in line.
This isn’t responsible governance; it’s ideological commitment to endless escalation.
And just like before, the human consequences will be felt globally and domestically.
Conflicts will be stoked.
Refugees will be created.
And when they arrive in the UK, the same politicians who funded the bombs will demonise those fleeing their effects.
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Real priorities, real consequences
The most telling detail in the BBC report is that more than £1.5 billion is being allocated to repair and rebuild military housing for service families.
That in itself is a good thing.
But it is revealing that military living standards are addressed in a 130-page defence strategy, while civilians in crumbling social housing are left waiting for scraps from the Treasury table.
What kind of country invests billions in drone armies and AI-driven warfare while forcing working people to endure mouldy flats and failing public services?
A country that has completely lost sight of peace, justice, and social progress.
And make no mistake: this is not about national security.
It’s about political consensus around militarism, arms sales, and permanent global entanglement.
There is no electoral choice on these issues.
Just a polished version of the same old war machine.
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Time to break the cycle
Monday’s review will likely talk about resilience, readiness, and deterrence.
But what the UK really needs is a fundamental rethink of its global role.
Instead of fuelling the next war, we could be leading in diplomacy, peace-building, and tackling the root causes of conflict.
Instead of promising billions more for bombs, the government could be investing in people: homes, schools, health services, and climate action.
But that would take courage — and right now, there’s none to be found at the top of either major party.
Vox Political readers know the truth: governments change, but the policies don’t.
Unless we demand better, we’ll keep paying the price — while others pay with their lives.
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Labour attacks Liz Truss whilst continuing her lunatic policies.
It’s not about Liz Truss — it’s about how Labour and the Tories both sustain the same broken defence doctrine. Starmer isn’t copying Truss — he’s perpetuating a bipartisan status quo that long predates her brief tenure.