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Since the 1980s Britain’s military spending has grown in real terms, yet more than half of military jobs have been lost. The sector is hi-tech and low labourKhem Rogaly is a senior research fellow at the thinktank Common WealthKeir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have announced their latest rescue remedy for Britain’s economy. Old promises – good jobs, thriving small businesses and regional equality – will now be delivered by an increased military budget, used to buy equipment from the private sector. More military spending is not a tonic, however, but a poison that will worsen our economic ills and make Britain less safe in the long run.Assurances of prosperity for small businesses and ex-industrial towns rest on a misleading depiction of military spending. Last financial year, 56% of Ministry of Defence spending with UK businesses went to London and the south of England. In the same year, nearly 40% of the £37.6bn military equipment budget went to just 10 multinational companies. “Slashing red tape” and granting small businesses more access to the military budget will not build a family-run missile factory on every street corner of ex-industrial Britain.Khem Rogaly is a senior research fellow at the thinktank Common Wealth, where he leads a research programme on the military industry Continue reading…
Since the 1980s Britain’s military spending has grown in real terms, yet more than half of military jobs have been lost. The sector is hi-tech and low labour
- Khem Rogaly is a senior research fellow at the thinktank Common Wealth
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have announced their latest rescue remedy for Britain’s economy. Old promises – good jobs, thriving small businesses and regional equality – will now be delivered by an increased military budget, used to buy equipment from the private sector. More military spending is not a tonic, however, but a poison that will worsen our economic ills and make Britain less safe in the long run.
Assurances of prosperity for small businesses and ex-industrial towns rest on a misleading depiction of military spending. Last financial year, 56% of Ministry of Defence spending with UK businesses went to London and the south of England. In the same year, nearly 40% of the £37.6bn military equipment budget went to just 10 multinational companies. “Slashing red tape” and granting small businesses more access to the military budget will not build a family-run missile factory on every street corner of ex-industrial Britain.
Khem Rogaly is a senior research fellow at the thinktank Common Wealth, where he leads a research programme on the military industry
