BRITAIN will be “fit to fight” under Labour, party leader Sir Keir Starmer said today in a renewed commitment to militarism.
The Labour leader also toughened up his commitment to spending far more on arms, saying that under Labour the military budget would aim to reach 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product “as soon as possible.”
And he both pledged to keep the Trident nuclear weapons system, building four new nuclear-armed submarines with one always ready to launch missiles, and that he would be ready as prime minister to use it.
“The most important thing is that I voted in favour of a nuclear deterrent,” Sir Keir said.
“And my commitment to the nuclear deterrent is absolute.
“Britain will be fit to fight within the first year of a Labour government.
“We will carry out a new Strategic Defence Review. We are absolutely committed to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence as soon as possible.”
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Jeremy Corbyn, fighting for Islington North as an independent, said: “Nuclear weapons are a profound and existential threat to humanity. Instead of investing in weapons of mass destruction, we should be investing in our schools, hospitals and housing to ensure everyone can lead a happy and healthy life.
“That is what real security means.”
Independent candidate Andrew Feinstein, who is challenging Sir Keir in his own north London constituency, warned that “every single taxpayer’s pound spent on weapons is a pound not spent on our crumbling schools, on reducing NHS waiting lists, on tackling the housing crisis, spiralling rents and the inability of hard-working families to pay the bills.
“Nearly 40 per cent of children in this constituency are living in poverty. That’s over 12,000 children.
“Yet Keir Starmer continually tells us he can’t commit to money for them, just money for more bombs and endless wars.”
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