Lindsey German on the increasing collusion between warmongering and environmental destruction

The signal as Andy Burnham formed his government last week couldn’t have been clearer: the military agenda will be paramount in his decisions on public spending. John Healey, the man who resigned as Defence Secretary because Starmer was not committing to spending enough on weapons and war, has been appointed Chancellor; right-wing arch-manoeuvrer Wes Streeting goes to the Ministry of Defence. The only conclusion to draw is that the dictates of the Pentagon and its junior ally at the MOD will be calling the shots on spending by this Labour government.

That isn’t enough for the right wing in politics and the media, of course. Burnham’s refusal (so far) to commit to 3% of GDP on the military by 2030 has been attacked by the Tories as putting the country’s safety at risk. But the biggest threat to security this week has been Burnham’s decision to allow the US to continue using bases in Britain for his illegal war on Iran. The idea that the government can claim non-involvement in this war while being accessory to war crimes just doesn’t stand up.

Every one of the decisions on military spending has consequences economically, socially and politically. Iran has now said it sees Britain as a target – just as it does the Gulf States who site US bases in their territory. This weekend, Ukraine hit an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea, killing a sailor. Nato-backed Ukraine, supplied with billions of dollars of arms by the US and Europe, is now extending the boundaries of the war with Russia to the other major war, in the Middle East, where it has repeatedly backed Israel in its war with the Palestinians.

Zelensky’s attack on Iran is a dangerous escalation in a war where he is under great political pressure over conscription, corruption and the command of the conflict itself. It shows the danger of not seeking an urgent peace between Russia and Ukraine, and of Zelensky’s own belief in is impunity. It can only echo the period before the First World War where the various powers came into conflict which could only end with one big conflagration.

This is the future if we do not stop it now. Trump is once again proclaiming he is talking peace to Iran after nearly two weeks of aerial bombardment – one story is that the US is frightened it is running low on Patriot missiles used to defend against ballistic missile attack. But the unpredictability of US imperialism in its decline under Trump should lead us to greater concern, not less. Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen are now embroiled in the Iran war, as is Israel and Lebanon.

Economically we know where the government emphasis on military spending leads – to a downgrading of every other area of public spending which do not make massive profits for the arms industry. That’s already happening and it will get much worse. Increasingly, areas of health and education will be tied to the military. The housing emergency will not be confronted head on. So social conditions will deteriorate, accompanied with a jingoism and nationalism that will only aid the far right and the racists.

Burnham’s first week doesn’t bode well, with promises of cosmetic changes rather than fundamental ones. And really, does no one in Labour understand that people want change over the things that matter to working-class people i.e. people who vote Labour? Cutting bits off the gas bill or the bus fares is welcome, but none of it will achieve what’s needed in the way that unfreezing the tax thresholds on the poorest earners would do – or indeed taxing the rich which again seems anathema to Labour ministers.

There is one area where Burnham could begin to make a difference if he showed some courage or even that he and his government recognised the seriousness of the problem – and that is what do about the real crisis we have in the here and now of the effects of climate change.

London is facing its fourth heatwave of the summer this week. The major French city of Bordeaux is threatened with evacuation – usually the only time that happens is in wartime. In North America, Canadian wildfires are having a terrible effect and everywhere it is now recognised that temperatures are rising with the ‘new normal’ now bringing them to dangerous levels throughout the summer months.

These events are all reported as though there were little connection between them and as separate disasters without a single cause. Weather forecasters even continue to welcome the sunshine which is doing a great deal of harm to humans, to crops and to infrastructure, as well as to the future of the planet.

The government should introduce emergency measures. They should nationalise the water and energy companies which have proved such costly failures – only this weekend the whole of Gatwick airport was without water. There should be a maximum working temperature for all workplaces and bans on outside working in the hottest times for workers in construction or agriculture. London bus and tube workers need proper protection from overheating. Access to airconditioned cool centres in offices, shopping centres, and other private buildings should be allowed, plus a rapid programme of making schools, hospitals and care homes cool enough for some of the most vulnerable.

This would require investment in socially useful measures which would save lives, prevent sickness and improve the quality of life for millions. It would require the sort of social intervention that was needed during Covid or during world wars. And it would be the prelude to reordering society to tackle the huge drivers of pollution and climate change. We cannot continue to burn fossil fuels, and we cannot continue the drive towards war and militarism, which is one of the greatest polluters.

Instead, nothing. It’s an illustration of how feeble governments are in the face of major challenges.

Meanwhile the generals and arms dealers barking for more money for their failed wars are rewarded, and those like teachers who try to minimise the effects of climate change are left to deal with it alone. It has long been argued, including by the warmongers, that a major driver for future wars will be climate change, as people lose access to water, food, agricultural land, and a means of earning a living. This coupled with present and future wars can also be a driver for revolution, as it becomes increasingly apparent that only radical system change can stop this dystopian fate. That will depend on us organising now against war and climate change and the priorities of capital which create them.

This week: I am doing a couple of meetings for Counterfire, a social event for Stop the War and at last getting the see The Odyssey.