A week before Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his latest budget, featuring devastating projections for future unemployment and slashing of foreign aid from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a huge increase in defence spending. £16.5 billion over four years added to the current £41.5 billion budget. 

Mr Johnson claims that this will protect existing jobs and increase Britain’s standing in world politics whilst bolstering a flagship navy. However, only a week later Mr Sunak’s budget dealt Britain’s global standing a far greater blow than any new ships could bring to it. By failing to meet the pledged commitments to foreign aid, this budget could threaten millions of aid recipients globally. Outrage was felt this week across the nation, with condemnation arising from sources as varied as David Cameron to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and led to the resignation of Lady Sass from the foreign office. 

In the time of a pandemic, the impact of aid cuts could be catastrophic. It is estimated that these cuts could lead to three million women and children not receiving the nutrients and food they were pledged and 5.6 million children not receiving vaccinations. Oxfam also reported that they could directly threaten the lives of 10,000 children. Furthermore, given the unpredictable nature of this year, who knows what further costs may be needed to roll out a coronavirus vaccine in less advantaged countries. The UN food agency has also predicted that the pandemic may lead to a disastrous famine of ‘biblical proportions’. 

Moreover, given the nature of the cuts Rishi Sunak laid out in his budget and the severe economic impact of the pandemic, this seems all the more outlandish. Mr Sunak confirmed that most public sector wages will be frozen, with only the lowest receiving a rise. Surely, this year has highlighted the value of public workers enough to justify more than this. The projection of 2.6 million unemployed in the coming year perhaps also shows where this huge amount of money could better be justified. 

Although this defence spend will indeed create jobs in the shipbuilding industry, it feels as if these funds are misplaced. The unprecedented nature of this year should have made clear that many problems are global in scale, and solutions cannot be found in old-fashioned industries but ground-breaking technologies and collective action. The global effort to find a vaccine and the rapid progress made shows the potential of these industries with the support of collective international action. Instead, preparing for a non-existent conflict during a pandemic seems as if the government is rigging burglar alarms whilst their house is going up in flames.

It is not unreasonable to assume that cuts must be made in the face of the Coronavirus but in this climate, it seems unreasonable to sanction such a vast spend on defence, an industry in which Britain is already amongst the world leaders. Given the economic crises the country faces over the next few years, this vast amount of money could be far more useful abroad in foreign aid where it can be the difference between life and death as well as in the public sector, or to keep businesses afloat and unemployment down. The idea that these vital industries are cut in favour of defence is unsettling and perhaps shows that the government’s priorities lay in image-crafting rather than in reality. If Britain is to restore its global standing as Mr Johnson wishes too, then it must look to avenues like foreign aid and global collective efforts rather than outdated and expensive defence initiatives. 

For more from Comment:

A Disunited Kingdom: Welsh Exams Cancelled

A Devolution Disaster: Is Indyref 2 on The Horizon?

Is the Christmas Travel Window Another Let Down for Students Across the Country?