Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets Ukraine's President Zelenskyy, March 2, 2025 -- Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street, OGL 3 <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3>, via Wikimedia Commons
"Putting aside the political theatre of recent days, the overriding priority is to oppose the new arms race, build the anti-war movement and support peace in Ukraine”, Kevan Nelson, International Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) told the CPB's executive committee at the weekend.
He said Prime Minister Starmer's plan to increase British military spending to 2.5% of GDP would add £13bn to the £54bn already spent on arms every year, to be funded by Draconian cuts in public services and welfare support.
“Starmer's NATO B-team summit in London talks about peace in Ukraine, while preparing to prolong the war with or without the USA”, the CP international secretary accused.
“In reality, Britain and EU-NATO powers are determined to head off any US-Russia peace initiatives, just as they were in April 2022 when Boris Johnson played a leading part in sabotaging the peace negotiations in Istanbul”, Mr. Nelson charged.
He thought it highly unlikely that Starmer's summit could produce a durable settlement in Ukraine, with Russia opposing the “phoney posturing” of British and French proposals to deploy military forces in Ukraine as part of a “security guarantee”.
“Why would President Putin accept yet more NATO garrisons on Russia's borders?” Mr. Nelson asked.
As divisions deepen within NATO and the EU, he reiterated the Communist Party's call for an independent foreign and defence policy for Britain.
“Keir Starmer is attempting to ride two horses at once,” he remarked, “yet neither NATO, some new European Military Alliance, nor a second Cold War against China, will meet the needs of millions of people for affordable housing and energy, decent pensions and benefits, a first-class NHS and secure and well-paid jobs”.
The CP executive also discussed the critical situation in Palestine as Israel blocks aid to Gaza and intensifies its military campaign in the West Bank, and welcomed an emerging peace process involving Turkey and the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).
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