Against nuclear weapons, militarisation and austerity 2.0
Last week, the UK government released its Strategic Defence Review (SDR). Commissioned back in July 2024, the review outlines the government’s hard-headed and dangerous plans to further invest in weapons of war. As poverty soars, the housing crisis worsens, public services remain underfunded, and the climate crisis accelerates – our government is making the political choice to funnel billions into nuclear weapons, militarisation, and the delusional logic of ‘deterrence’ instead of facing up to the urgent needs of our society.
The Strategic Defence Review: Key Points & Analysis
- Massive investments in nuclear weapons: The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) outlines commitment to spend £15 billion on nuclear warheads and to build up to 12 nuclear power attack submarines as part of the AUKUS program. UK officials are also reportedly discussing purchasing nuclear-capable aircraft – which would further expand the UK nuclear arsenal to include air-delivered nuclear weapons.
- Increased participation in NATO’s nuclear mission: Though this comes without explicit details, the review suggests increasing the number of fighter jets, including by purchasing nuclear capable Joint Strike Fighters (F-35A) from the US. This would be a significant change from the one system nuclear arsenal the UK has had since 1998, and would be an act against its nuclear disarmament obligations under the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) – setting a dangerous precedent for other nuclear and non-nuclear states to follow suit.
- Commitment to keeping nuclear weapons, seemingly indefinitely: The SDR recommends beginning talks now on securing the next round of nuclear armed submarines to follow the Dreadnought, even though those boats will only enter service in the late 2030s.
As Medact’s Nuclear Weapons Group have continually stated, the logic of ‘deterrence’ prevents disarmament and propels nuclear proliferation, provoking aggression and counter-aggression. Increasing presence of nuclear weapons in the world makes us increasingly unsafe, and at risk of catastrophic nuclear war. It’s as simple as that.
The SDR shifts UK nuclear weapons policy in the wrong direction, and out of line with the views of the public. The review itself states the need for a public relations campaign to convince UK citizens that spending billions on weapons designed for indiscriminate mass murder is reasonable, even at a time when public services are struggling and the social safety net is collapsing.
Poverty and war are deeply connected, both a consequence of capitalism and imperialism – systems that prioritise profit and power over people and planet. We need investment in our health, not weapons.
The current cost of nuclear weapons
The UK currently has 225 nuclear weapons which it can launch from submarines. From ICAN’s most recent report on nuclear spending, we know that Britain increased annual spending on nuclear weapons by 17% to £6.5 billion in 2023, a greater rise than any other nuclear power except the US. Over the past five years, British expenditure has risen by a staggering 43%.
Trident – the UK’s nuclear weapons system – now costs £12,000 every minute. Beyond Trident, over £14 billion has already been spent on the Dreadnought replacement programme, which is set to spend a total of £31 billion over the course of the programme.
How might we otherwise spend this money?
Transferring costs away from the UK’s nuclear enterprise would enable the NHS to honour its commitment to its hospital building project – which set out to build 40 new hospitals in England by 2030. The 10 year programme is estimated to cost between £19.8 and £29.7 billion to complete, and is already lagging behind due to poor capital investment.
From research by The King’s Fund, we know that the government’s annual spend on nuclear weapons (£6.5 billion) could account for:
- The annual budget for one of England’s biggest hospitals, like University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, for 6.5 years.
- The salaries of 54,600 consultants or 156,600 nurses for a year.
- 71 million A&E visits
- 15.6 million ambulance trips to A&E
- 13.2 million GP consultations
Additionally, £5 billion a year over the next five years or so would enable the building of 72,000 additional social/affordable homes a year. And, given the current Warm Homes Plan commits to 13.2 billion to insulate 5 million homes, the government could insulate 2.5 million homes in just one year, if allocated the current annual nuclear weapons spend.
And as The Alternative Defence Review from CND makes clear: public investment in health, education, and climate action creates more jobs and greater social benefit than military spending. A safer world isn’t built with bombs – it’s built with care.
How can we take action?
There is a clear connection between the announcements of increased military spending, and the government’s announcements in April this year of violent, sweeping cuts to welfare, winter fuel payments, and adult social care on which so many rely to live.
On Saturday 7th June, we came together as a movement for health justice and joined the national demonstration to demand welfare, not warfare – no more austerity, and no more military spending. We need investments in health, education, social services, and all tenets of human security.
In the longer term, our movement for health justice continues to campaign for true access to healthcare, warm healthy homes, and peace and human security for all. Medact’s Nuclear Weapons Group’s most recent campaign, Don’t Bank on the Bomb is growing a UK-wide movement for financial divestment from nuclear weapons manufacturers. We’re targeting banks, pension funds and other financial institutions to divest from the companies that manufacture weapons of mass destruction; withdrawing consent for our money to be spent on weapons of war. Joining Medact’s Nuclear Weapons Group, and the DBOTB UK is a great way to add your voice to this movement!
