Protesters gathered outside RAF Marham to oppose Starmer’s plans to buy and station nuclear-capable F-35a fighter jets there, reports Jacqueline Mulhallen

Saturday’s protest outside RAF Marham was small but significant. Attended by CND and Stop the War groups travelling from London it was also supported by groups from across the region from Norwich, Cambridge and Peterborough as well as local groups such as Lakenheath for Peace and Kings Lynn Stop the War and even local individuals. They are worried about the 12 new nuclear-capable F-35a fighter jets which Prime Minister Keir Starmer says are to be stationed at Marham. Costing about £80 million each, they form part of his commitment to more than double defence spending from 2.3% to 5% of GDP.

Sophie Bolt, General Secretary of CND UK spoke about how the plan to buy these American nuclear-capable F-35a planes betrayed Britain’s signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a landmark international agreement aiming to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology. She pointed out that these weapons make it easier and more likely to use nuclear force. She also remarked that the decision to take this action had not been debated in Parliament. It was a unilateral decision of the Prime Minister.

She also noted that Britain does not have the right equipment to refuel these jets, and will have to buy them from the US, along with the weapons – all adding to the ongoing costs. Furthermore, it appears that the nuclear weapons would only be permitted to be fired on the say-so of the US President, currently Donald Trump. This drags the country into a far closer alignment with US interests, and puts us into a position of greater danger of being attacked as part of any attack on US international interests.

An ex-miner told us about how the promise of jobs for the area was a pipe dream too. In Barrow-in-Furness, the shipyard building the new generation of nuclear submarines is employing people from outside this officially deprived area. Both there and in Plymouth and Devonport, where nuclear submarines are maintained, there is constant fear of an accident which will poison the air, land and water with radioactivity.

People local to Marham have already told us about their fears of the same thing happening here, and there is the additional risk of the area becoming a target for terrorists and hostile foreign governments. A Kings Lynn Stop the War supporter remarked that it did not seem long ago that we were attending demonstrations to stop American nuclear weapons being based on British soil under a Tory government, and, although the last American missiles were withdrawn from Lakenheath in 2008, here we are again under a Labour government. People repeatedly pointed out that we have need for more funding for health and education, and this increase in defence spending will cut into other budgets.

This was the first demonstration at Marham but it will not be the last. Many of the people attending announced their decision to come back again for the next one. Plans are starting to take shape for a large public meeting in nearby King’s Lynn, and, given the worry about the situation among local people, we expect this to lead to much greater numbers at the next protest at the airbase.