Newly appointed chancellor John Healey has opened the door for the UK military to shape defence budgets. His proposal is another step away from democratic oversight of how public money is spent. And it’s all part of a defence spending ideology that’s full of holes!
Declassified UK reported on 30 July:
Britain’s new chancellor John Healey has asked for a military officer to accompany him at the Treasury, it has emerged.
The move indicates how much weight Healey will place on weapons procurement after resigning as defence secretary last month in protest at Keir Starmer’s military spending plans.
The UK-based outlet pointed out that the move is highly unusual:
Chancellors do not normally have a serving military officer assigned to their private office, with the placements typically reserved for the prime minister and defence ministers.
However, Healey has requested an army major, naval lieutenant commander or air force squadron leader join his top Treasury team for at least the next six months.
Experts were quick to warn that this could amount to undue military influence over budgets which are meant to be democratically accountable.
Notoriously wasteful military
Transition Security Project co-director Khem Rogaly told Declassified:
Stationing a military officer at the Treasury will increase pressure to cut other areas of government spending to fund the soaring military budget. Cuts to fund the Defence Investment Plan were targeted at net zero during a summer of unprecedented heatwaves and severe droughts.
These cuts meant that the £15 billion added to the military budget will lead to net job losses in the UK. Further cuts will be deeply unpopular and damage the economy, taking money from schools and hospitals to fund a notoriously wasteful military.
Rogaly pointed out military spending is bad way to get growth and create jobs:
It should not escape the Treasury’s attention that military spending is one of the worst forms of public investment for jobs and growth. Military largesse is an extremely damaging economic strategy.
Who pulls the defence lever?
And that the military’s:
existing plan to increase military spending pours money into a broken system that already loses billions every year to cancelled contracts and fraud.
Added to this, large parts of the current budget seem to have less to do with national defence and more to do with spreading militarism overseas:
Despite the claim that more military spending is needed for national defence, the Defence Investment Plan commits Britain to military engagement in the Middle East, Indo-Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caucuses.
Declassified reported that the Treasure had not responded to questions. But that the head of the military, Sir Phil Knighton, had signed off on the new posting. It seems like the decision has already been made, with no sense that the erosion of democratic control is a concern for the Labour government.
Featured image via the Canary
By Joe Glenton
