UK Government’s nuclear weapons spending plans could fund 220,000 nurses and 3.7m homes, report finds

Campaigners urge government to redirect £240bn for nukes to boost the health service, clear the social housing waiting list and pay for solar panels on every home

LTERNATIVES to current nuclear weapons spending plans would be enough for the NHS to hire extra 220,000 nurses and fund 3.7 million affordable homes, a report found today.

Campaigners demanded Prime Minister Andy Burnham consider redirecting the outlined £240 billion for nukes to boost the health service, clear the social housing waiting list and pay for the installation of solar panels on every home.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’s report, entitled People not Nukes, revealed the total amount of savings the state could make over the next 30 years if it funded public services instead of the war machine.

CND general secretary Sophie Bolt told the PM he must be clear about his priorities ahead of his first Budget in October.

“Prime Minister Burnham has stated that national security can’t come at the expense of social security,” she said.

“That is correct. But he also needs to be clear about the real national security threats we face — and what will make us more secure, not less.

“Military spending hikes and nuclear expansion are not making us safer. Replacing Britain’s nuclear submarines and expanding its nuclear capability is only increasing the threat of nuclear weapons being used, and the chances of other countries developing the weapons.”

With alternative spending plans, the £240m destined for nuclear arms programmes could increase nursing staff by a third compared to current levels.

It could also clear the social housing waiting list within seven years, by building 3.7m affordable homes.

Other alternatives could see university tuition fees of eight million students paid, or fund free school meals for every child in Britain for 46 years.

“Thousands of people are dying in Britain right now because of a failure to invest in tackling climate change and to properly fund essential public services, like health. Millions are living in poverty in insecure, unsafe housing,” Ms Bolt said.

The report, she added, shows that meeting international nuclear disarmament obligations “could free up hundreds of billions of public funds to tackle these very urgent, life-threatening security threats we face.”

The findings come as the unions at this year’s TUC Congress were set to vote on a motion for “Building real security” by “advancing a trade union vision of security-based decent work, quality public services, equality, climate action, democracy on peace.”