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Contemporary motion for Labour Party conference

Labour CND’s contempoary motion for Labour Party conference meets the criteria

  • Must be an issue that has arisen after the Friday 5 July 2024
  • On one subject
  • No more than 250 words in length
  • Not considered by the CAC as an organisational matter or constitutional amendment.

The deadline for submitting these motions for Annual Conference is 5pm Thursday 12 September.

This motion which calls on Labour to publish the likely cost of raising defence spending is set within the framework of Labour’s non-negotiable fiscal rules. It is suitable for debate as a CLP policy motion as well as a conference contemporary. We have produced an Explainer with references below also included below.

EXPLAINER

MoD’s Finance and economics annual statistical bulletin: international defence 2024,15 August 2024, is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-defence-expenditure-2024/finance-and-economics-annual-statistical-bulletin-international-defence-2024

Military data is compiled and computed differently by different countries and institutions. Making international comparisons about military spending presents a number of widely documented difficulties to do with the comparability and granularity of international military data. For purposes of transparency and comparison, the MoD takes spending and other data for its statistical bulletin from internationally recognised and authoritative sources – in the case of the statistics presented in this motion, the IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies) and SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) are the main sources. NATO and the MoD, also compute military data differently, as do the IMF and World Bank. Because the data for the MoD’s annual statistical bulletin does not originate from the UK Government Statistical Service they are not designated as ‘official statistics’. This does not mean they lack authority, on the contrary all government seek to present their data in the most favourable light and may sometimes avoid international comparison.

Press Release announcing the SDR, 16 July 2024, is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-root-and-branch-review-of-uk-armed-forces

The SDR’s purpose is given in the Terms of Reference, 17 July 2024, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-defence-review-2024-2025-terms-of-reference/strategic-defence-review-2024-2025-terms-of-reference#:~:text=The%20SDR%20will%20consider%20the,sovereign%20requirements%20and%20strategic%20reach.

The MoD’s budget is ‘protected’, meaning inflation-proofed, together with health, education, childcare, and overseas development budgets. All other government department budgets are unprotected. Transport, housing, local government, etc could all take a hit if military spending rises to 2.5%.

See IFS Figure 14: Estimated change in day-to-day departmental budgets (average annual real-terms growth) under existing spending plans, 2024–25 to 2028–29, in How have the size and shape of the UK state changed?, June 2024, available at https://ifs.org.uk/publications/how-have-size-and-shape-uk-state-changed

Labour’s non-negotiable fiscal rules can be found at https://labour.org.uk/change/labours-fiscal-plan/     

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Wages Not Weapons: Labour CND model conference motion

Despite the severest cost of living crisis in most of our memories, the Chancellor’s Spring Statement increased the Ministry of Defence budget by £5 billion in the next two years, with a total increase of £11bn over the next 5 years.

Forecast organisations are predicting the UK will be the worst performing economy of all G20 countries in 2023, and will have shrunk by 0.3% by the end of this year. Funding nuclear weapons and war are being pursued at the expense of workers wages.

Labour CND’s model motion for this year’s Labour Party conference argues that high military spending restricts the action governments can take in defence of the public sector and workers pay. We’re calling  for an in-coming Labour government to:

    • increase investment and promote growth
    • improve public services
    • provide an emergency support package to off-set the cost-of-living crisis, and
    • take effective action to tackle climate change.

It you agree with us, please encourage your local party to send this motion for debate at Labour’s 2023 conference. Download our motion which includes an explainer with some facts, figures, and arguments to help you make the case in your CLP.

And don’t forget to let us know by emailing labourcnd@gmail.com

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Lobby your Labour MP

During a health pandemic, with the UK economy set to nose dive, and the majority of families struggling to make ends meet, Labour CND believes it’s a big mistake for our parliamentary front bench to support Boris Johnson’s military spending hike. Our representatives should be making the case for real security, tackling the Covid crisis, the climate emergency, and playing our part in combatting global poverty.

If your MP is a Labour MP, let them know what you think. Drop them a line right now using Labour CND’s online lobby.

And while you’re here, take a look at our model motion for your local Labour Party.