A demonstration at the US air base at Lakenheath, Suffolk, where nuclear weapons are to be deployed for the first time in fifteen years. Photo Workers.
What can workers do to stop the growing threat of war? Perhaps the first question we to ask is: do they want to stop it?
We are being led by a series of warmongers. including leaders of the Labour Party. Pre-election, John Healey, as shadow foreign secretary, indicated Starmer was following Sunak’s path of promoting the idea that war is inevitable. There was no anti-war choice.
Yet, according to YouGov surveys, the majority of workers do consistently support the foreign policy of successive governments – but under the impression that NATO promotes peace. Workers don’t actually want war, though they fear it may happen. But there are some within the working class, argue for Britain’s increased involvement in the wars currently raging in the world.
The “do something” brigade
We are regularly given exhortations to be more involved. Everywhere you go, at work, in the pub, in the park, when the topic of war comes up, there are people who will say but “when you look at Russia, at Iran, at Syria…” – the list is long – “we must do something.”
But must we? What would be their response were you to turn the question around? “Can you give one example since 1945 where Britain’s involvement in a foreign conflict has improved the situation?” Think of Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years.
The reasons given for involvement in Afghanistan included, for example, the restrictions on the rights of women. And now it’s much worse than before Britain (and the USA) became involved.
In answer to the question “What can workers do?” the first thing is to resist the “must do something” argument: British involvement can exacerbate a situation. The “must do something” approach is the thinking which leads someone to rush and help at the scene of an accident without any assessment of risk, only to end up adding to themselves to the casualty list.
The other good thing about challenging the “must do something” position is that it soon brings up the topic of Britain’s membership of NATO. The argument goes that “we” have to do something because “we are members of NATO.”
In a sense they are right, membership of that organisation obliges Britain to support the dominance of the USA as a world power. There can be no peace while we are members of NATO.
That’s why the CPBML says Britain must leave NATO. We have called for this since our foundation in 1968. We think the need to leave NATO has never been greater. And the current government is determined to be the hardest working member of this organisation.
What do we know?
How much does the working class know about NATO activity? Understanding of, and opposition to, NATO may be limited in our working class but we are certainly not alone. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament also says “No to NATO”, with a briefing showing how much more widespread opposition to NATO is than our so-called political leaders want people to know.
The second thing workers can do is learn more about NATO and why we must leave it. Workers magazine has published many articles and the CPBML website has a host of resources. These include a useful history, ”Britain – the brains behind NATO”, and an excellent online editorial about Britain’s role in the Middle East.
What is happening in Britain now is often described as warmongering. The definition of warmonger is a politician or other leader who encourages a country to go to war. The current Labour government has already been involving itself directly in overseas conflict. They are actively warmaking.
Who benefits?
Who does war serve? War for the working class is always a disaster. What are the consequences of our government’s actions? We cannot look away. What can we do to stop it? How many probing questions have you heard about Keir Starmer’s warmaking and his swanning around the world stirring this up?
On the question of war in Europe, it has been a case of continuity from the previous government. Vote for change was the Labour election manifesto line. But on the question of war in Ukraine, what we have is a seamless continuation of previous policy.
On one day in September 2024, Starmer was in the USA urging an escalation of war in Europe, pleading for British missiles to be used deep into Russia. At the same time Boris Johnson was in Kiev saying Britain “wasn’t doing enough”. A grotesque double act on two continents.
The third thing workers can do against the warmongers is to make visible what is happening – circulate the arguments from organisations exposing the warmongers and promoting peace. This party, CND (see above), and Stop the War are just three.
The incessant international travels and lobbying by Starmer, as well as contributions from armed forces and MI5 leaders, show how busy this government has been on the warmaking trail since it was elected. Much of this has passed British workers by, with their focus understandably on attacks on their standard of living, cuts to the winter fuel allowance and more.
War at home and abroad
Governments tend to attack their own citizens at the same time as waging war abroad. Yet there may be a positive in the present reaction in Britain. All this warmongering and warmaking is not distracting us from the real issues of the cost of living and the war on the working class at home.
Thatcher used an invasion of the Falklands to revive her flagging popularity. Starmer wants to paint himself as a European statesman in a sharp suit but absolutely no one is taken in.
‘Membership of NATO obliges Britain to support the dominance of the USA as a world power. There can be no peace while we are members of NATO…’
The fourth thing we can do, and probably the most important: bring the cost of living issues and the question of war abroad together. For example, we cannot keep our population warm but we can give “cast iron” guarantees on defence spending which is largely being used to fight a war – not on defence of Britain at all. There is a terrible black hole in the public finances but the war coffers are bottomless, it appears.
A National Audit Office Report published in September 2024 said, “The UK has committed £7.8 billion to military support for Ukraine, between January 2022 and March 2025. The equipment provided includes air defence missiles, drones, cruise missiles, tanks and ships, as well as clothing and personal equipment. UK forces have trained at least 42,050 AFU (Armed Forces Ukraine) personnel, including new recruits, frontline commanders, instructors and those in specialist roles such as medical staff.”
Funds for war
This money comes from the Treasury reserve not the Ministry of Defence budget. The reserve is described as a centrally held fund that can be used to pay for unexpected financial pressures. And even more appalling: “The MoD is planning for longer-term support for Ukraine in line with the government’s commitment to provide £3 billion a year in military support until 2030-31, and for as long as needed.”
In answer, then, to the question what can workers do to stop war there are four clear ways forward, each ensuring workers get access to accurate, honest information for discussions in the workplace and our trade unions, as well as for when we go about our leisure time in the pub, or the park, or the gym or wherever workers are worried about war whether for themselves or for their children – and make no mistake, if workers were made to join up the women would be called too.
• This article is based on a speech given at a CPBML public meeting in October 2024.