TELE POSTBAG ‘We should prioritise welfare spending over weapons’
‘How much is wasted on weaponry?’
AS a lifelong ‘Ban the Bomber’ (Scottish CND member to be exact) I was perturbed to hear Rishi Sunak announce last week that he will increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent by 2030 if he remains Prime Minister.
No comfort either should Keir Starmer replace him as PM because Labour has pledged to do exactly the same. Global military spending is at an alltime high, great news no doubt for the profits of the global arms industry but surely bad news for the human race.
Just how much of that increase will be wasted on weapons of mass destruction and upgraded versions of those submarines which languish menacingly across the water from Inverclyde?
Nuclear weapons cannot be used in a conflict without bringing catastrophe to the whole world - although worryingly Keir Starmer admitted two weeks ago that he would be prepared to press that nuclear button should the event arise. Some would argue that defence requires well-trained personnel and well-equipped forces and that Scotland as a maritime nation needs a modest amount of naval protection more than nuclear weapons which can never be used.
It seems there is always money for rearmament. We are always expected to accept that money spent on weaponry should take precedence over spending on the wellbeing of ordinary people in the here and now.
We are told by both Tory and Labour that there is no money for spending on the things that matter to the people of Scotland - better healthcare, an end to poverty, decent pensions and more generous benefits.
So I have some suggestions for our UK party leaders.
Just as you have magically found money for extra defence spending, why don’t you find money to help people on low incomes? How about you raise Universal Credit to a level that allows people to live with dignity? And while you are at it, remove the two child limit so that child poverty is reduced? And what about raising pensions? It is surely a matter of shame that UK pensions are the second lowest in Europe. Does it not matter to you that many are choosing between heating and eating in one of the richest countries in the world?
With a general election on the horizon, many people will be looking to see who actually cares about them, which leader is focused on improving our society and looking after people and which party will allocate resources to where it can do good work - above ground and not deep in some nuclear bunker. It is, after all, just a matter of political choice.
MARY MCGLASHAN Greenock