How many more lives must be wasted in the bloody trenches of Ukraine, for a pointless war provoked by western imperialism?
In the flag-waving fantasies of ‘Sir’ Keir Starmer, tens of thousands of British men and women should now be put on the front lines to ‘keep the peace’ in Eastern Europe.
After spending billions on bombs and bullets for Ukraine, the PM has vowed that Britain is “ready and willing” to get its hands dirty, by putting “boots on the ground”. Starmer’s hands, we assume, will stay squeaky clean – safe and secure in Downing Street.
Already, the UK has spent almost £13 billion propping up Ukraine. And Starmer has promised the Zelensky regime £3 billion per year, come what may.
When did we – the working class – get to have any say on this? Who decided that sending arms and money to Kyiv is in the vital ‘national interest’, but our homes, schools, and hospitals are not? What happened to ‘tightening our belts’?
The ruling cliques of Europe are banging the drum about the need to up military spending to avert the ‘threat’ of Putin’s Russia, as President Trump withdraws US support for Ukraine. And make no mistake: Starmer is one of the most rabid warmongers in the European imperialist gang.
In a bootlicking effort to impress his new master in Washington, the PM announced the biggest increase in so-called ‘defence’ spending since the end of the Cold War. This means reaching Labour’s target of 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027 – three years earlier than initially planned – with a “clear ambition” to reach 3 percent after that!
In other words, the government will be lavishing an extra £13.4 billion per year on the military, on top of the £56.9 billion already spent annually.
Compare that to the £5 billion budgeted to build affordable homes, or the £1.4 billion to repair crumbling school buildings, and it’s clear that this government cares more about bloodshed abroad than improving lives back home.
Higher prices; higher taxes; austerity and inequality: these are the costs already paid by working people for this imperialist proxy war. Now, with the conflict likely drawing to an end, the ruling classes are insisting that we foot the bill for generations to come!
With the state’s coffers empty, and the UK economy stuttering, the money needed for tanks and ammunition can only come from cuts to education, local councils, the NHS, and the welfare budget. It’s ‘guns before butter’ as the German imperialists used to say – and might start saying again!
Former Tory defence secretary Ben Wallace has told Starmer to be honest about the fact that cuts to other government departments are needed to strengthen the Army. And the media has been awash with stomach-churning jingoism, preparing public opinion for the drive towards militarism.
This has nothing to do with ‘sovereignty’ or ‘security’, and everything to do with the madness of imperialist war, fought for the profits and prestige of the capitalist class.
We say:
- No to Starmer’s militarism and austerity!
- For healthcare, not warfare! Books not bombs!
- Down with the warmongers! Down with imperialism!
Die for my country? No, thanks!
Wes Benowitz, Preston
A recent YouGov poll found that only 41 percent of Britons aged 18-27 said they were proud to be British. This is about half of the level of 20 years ago.
Perhaps most alarmingly for Starmer – who claims he is “ready and willing” to put British boots on the ground in Ukraine – the study also showed that only one in ten young people is prepared to fight for their country.
And most revealing of all: 41 percent of ‘Gen Z’ said that in no circumstances at all would they would take up arms for their country.
Subsequently, one viral video featured young interviewees joking that “I will serve crack before I serve this country” and that they would only enlist if it was for a “people’s army”.
@politicsjoe Young Brits explain why they don’t support Starmer’s plan to put troops in Ukraine. #fyp #news #uknews #ukpolitics #politics ♬ original sound – PoliticsJOE
Clearly, all of Labour’s jingoistic nonsense about “securing the future of Britain’s national security” is falling flat amongst young people – and for good reason.
With a rampant housing crisis, education and healthcare collapsing, and no prospects for the future, it is no wonder that young people would refuse to serve a country that has offered them nothing close to ‘security’.
It is this deep sense of disillusionment – and not schools “poisoning the minds” of young people, as Nigel Farage has fumed – that is driving this collapse in patriotism.
Establishment figures from the military to the media have all joined the chorus calling for higher ‘defence’ spending. This can only mean more austerity. And who will be affected by it the most? Young people and workers, of course.
Those who are banging the drums of war have another thing coming if they think we’ll go along with their imperialist plans. This system simply isn’t worth fighting for. But overthrowing it? That certainly is!
Vultures circling: British state invests in Ukraine’s ‘recovery’
Jeff Hwang, Camden
As if the £12.8 billion Britain has already lavished upon Ukraine wasn’t enough, foreign secretary David Lammy recently gifted an extra £55 million to Zelensky, ostensibly to help with the country’s recovery.
Of this amount, £25 million is earmarked for social services; £10 million for the economy; and £17 million into the energy sector – all of these could do with a bit of extra funding back at home, don’t you think?
The final £3 million of Lammy’s handout will facilitate grain shipments from Ukraine to the new Islamist regime in Syria. Effectively, the government is propping up one western puppet with another.
This is being extolled as a show of solidarity with Syrians and Ukrainians – all while refugees from both of these countries face an uncertain future at the hands of the Home Office.
This grant comes with the signing of a “100 Year Partnership” between Britain and Ukraine. This is certainly an ambitious treaty: the current Ukrainian regime will be lucky to last a hundred weeks, let alone a hundred years.
This represents little more than a diplomatic stunt. As a former British diplomat pointed out, this is a miniscule sum compared to what Britain has lauded on Kyiv in previous years.
Perhaps after taking a look at the state’s bare coffers, Rachel Reeves has told her colleagues over in the foreign office that there’s not much left to hand out!
This £55 million injection will certainly not reverse the situation on the ground. That ship sailed long ago. But there is a clear motive behind this so-called ‘charity’.
A government press release explains that the partnership “cements the UK as a preferred partner for Ukraine’s energy sector, critical minerals strategy, and green steel production.”
We are told that this partnership will “boost resilience and growth in the UK and [!] Ukraine” and “spur collaborations” between British and Ukrainian businesses.
But there is only one kind of “collaboration” that can exist between a war-torn, dominated country and an imperialist power – that of plunder and exploitation.
Behind lofty words like “partnership” and “collaboration” lies the true driving force of this ‘soft power’: the imperialist’s desire to dig their claws into what remains of Ukraine’s resources.
