The position of the Socialist Labour Party
Welfare or Warfare, that is the question. That is the question that divides those who care for one another from those who want to dominate and kill others. It includes those who believe in helping others, in a welfare state, our NHS, housing, transport, fare wages, pensions and conditions at work, care for the elderly and disabled. Respect for gender and race. After all, It is warfare that creates the need for welfare.
The other side of the question contains those who want to dominate others, who think only about profit and power. Those who are prepared to use force to get their will, to suppress others and remove their liberty.
This, they dress up as the need to show strength, for security. They are prepared to invest in arms and weapons that will be used to kill others, to suppress others, to rob them of their well being and wealth. This is neo-colonialism, empire building. It will be dressed up as security, the need to protect ourselves. We need weapons for our defence. We need a strong arms Industry to build these weapons. After all, the arms industry provides jobs, well paid and highly skilled jobs. This is money well spent .
This is not defence, it is offense. It is possible to produce weapons for use to defend us in a case of aggression against us. This is quite different to weapons designed for offense, to kill and subjugate others.
The Arms industry does produce jobs. However, while siphoning off vast amounts of money it pollutes the planet while producing the means of killing people. The money invested in “defence” should go into industries producing many more secure, highly skilled jobs, meeting social needs – such as an integrated energy policy, involving all environmentally acceptable forms of energy: carbon-capture/clean-coal; wave; barrage; geo-thermal and, above all, solar power.
Why is it so much easier to find money for killing than money for social and economic well-being?
The Socialist labour Party is fully committed to Welfare, not Warfare. We believe that the wealth created by our industries must be invested in people, in their welfare, not in killing and suppressing people. We will restore all benefits and at the higher rate seen in many European countries. We will invest in industries producing socially useful products., in transport, housing, education, our NHS and our vital infrastructure. We will leave Nato, and produce arms only for defence. We will end austerity.
How will we pay for this? By a fair taxation system, taxing the rich and stopping tax evasion. Having left Nato we will not be raising the percentage of our GDP on arms, paid to the Arms Industry. We will cancel the renewal of the Trident Nuclear submarine fleet, producing an estimated saving of £205 billion. We will stop selling arms to conflict zones such as Palestine or the Ukraine which just fan the flames of war. Through nationalisation of our vital industries we will not be paying excessive bonuses to fat cat bosses. Our trade unions will play a vital part in ensuring safety and proper wages and conditions at work.
In this way we will be able to end austerity. To pay proper welfare benefits, pensions and wages to our citizens.
End austerity, Tax the rich. Welfare not warfare, comrades.
Arthur Scargill.
Chris Butler.
June, 2025