People Suffering from Health and Economic Crises

Why is the increase in defence spending the top priority for Britain? What are the job, health and economic crises like in the UK? How is the Government sacrificing UK’s people to support Ukraine? How does the Government intend to deal with budget constraints?

Which is the Government’s top priority? People’s welfare or defence spending?

According to Irish News, commons Leader Penny Mordaunt has said she is “confident” the Government will keep defence spending “strong”. She said this after Army generals called for more money for the UK to defend itself. General Sir Richard Barrons called in the Sunday Express for Jeremy Hunt to approve an annual boost of £3 billion. General Barrons is a former commander of the Joint Forces Command. Ms Mordaunt told the BBC that she was confident that defence spending would be the top priority for the Government.

According to GOV.UK (4 January 2023), Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a speech setting out his priorities for 2023. He said today; I want to make a simple commitment. This Government will always reflect the people’s priorities. People don’t want politicians who promise the earth and fail to deliver. They want the Government to focus less on politics and more on what they care about. The cost of living should be lowered. Waiting times in the NHS should be shorter.

Now, the Government needs to remember its commitments and people’s priorities. People are under the severe pressure of economic crises. Instead, the Government has focused on its political purpose of defence spending! Why? 

Why is the increase in defence spending the top priority for Britain?   

The Government aims to increase defence spending to prolong the proxy war in Ukraine to achieve its political goal of NATO expansion. According to Irish News, Ms Mordaunt has said that the Government must provide Ukraine “the means to finish the job,” according to the former defence secretary while ensuring the UK has the resources to achieve it. She has highlighted, “We have always protected defence spending.” Ms Mordaunt said in an interview with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday that the Government must safeguard defence funding. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has asked the international community to continue supporting Ukraine during this “critical period” in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

As BBC says, Russia has vehemently opposed Ukraine’s request to join NATO, fearing this would encroach too closely on its territory. According to Aljazeera, Russia’s defence minister says that the US and its allies, including the UK, are trying to prolong the conflict as much as possible,”

The UK and its allies are trying to prolong the Russia-Ukraine war to weaken the military and economy of Russia. They do not care about the damage that Ukraine receives and people’s lives. In this regard, the UK government does not consider the job, health and economic crises in the UK. 

What are the job, health and economic crises like in the UK?

The UK has faced serious job, health and economic crises. City A.M. says hundreds of jobs are at risk as Chinese-owned British Steel set to announce the closure of the Scunthorpe plant. Unions fear British Steel is set to announce the closure of coking ovens at one of its plants. This closure will lead to the loss of hundreds of jobs as the company warns it faces “significant challenges”. Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, GMB national officer, said it would be “devastating news “for the people of Scunthorpe and all British Steel workers across the UK.

According to Eastern Eye, nurses in England will pause planned strike action to enter “intensive talks” with the British Government on pay and conditions. Britain is experiencing its most significant wave of strike action in decades. The strikes involve hundreds of thousands of workers from a range of professions. Moreover, there is piling pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to settle the disputes. Many of the arguments involve the public sector. 

As CNBC says, the Office for National Statistics reported that between June and August 2022, about 2.5 million people cited long-term sickness as the leading cause of economic inactivity. This figure shows a rise of around half a million since 2019.  

How is the Government sacrificing UK’s people to support Ukraine? 

The UK government has focused on supporting Ukraine rather than tackling Britain’s health and economic crises. According to BBC, Penny Mordaunt says the Government has committed to increasing its defence spending to support Ukraine. Emergency Committee says the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal has raised over £400 million as a disaster. This amount includes £25 million matched by the UK Government. The UK is the biggest charity donor to the Ukraine humanitarian response worldwide. 

According to Bolnews, Penny Mordaunt says defence funding is the top priority for the UK government. The UK has vowed to “double down” on its assistance for Ukraine. Penny Mordaunt says: “I was talking about the UK’s commitment to supporting Ukraine and how it balances with the defence budget. In the next three months, we will provide them with more help than we did the entire previous year.” 

How does the Government intend to deal with budget constraints? 

Supporting Ukraine is the top priority for the UK government. According to Bolnews, Ms Mordaunt said the Government was planning to “double down” on providing Ukraine with guns and training. BBC asked Ms Mordaunt how the Government intends to deal with budget constraints. She said in response that the administration has “made assurances that we are going to boost defence spending,” She did, however, caution that any increases would not be confirmed until the chancellor’s Budget was made public in March.

Final remark

Ms Mordaunt has said that the UK government is to “double down” on providing Ukraine with guns and training. She added, “We have to do that. And, of course, we will ensure we have the resources to do that.” When asked if the UK would send fighter jets to Ukraine—a request by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—Ms Mordaunt responded that “nothing is off the table” regarding what supplies the UK might give Ukraine (Bolnews). 

Where does the Budget come from? The fact is quite clear. British taxpayers have to pay for providing Ukraine with guns and training. Therefore, there will be more economic pressure on people! The UK government must stop its imperialistic plan for NATO expansion and spend the Budget on the British people’s welfare.