Lindsey German on the gruesome twosome of reheated neoliberalism

It would be easy to say that we’ve seen the worst that Rachel Reeves can do following her spring statement which slashed the already paltry level of benefits for the disabled, drove 50,000 more children into poverty, will lead to less money for 3 million families, and will force many people into work that they are not capable or fit enough to carry out. But unfortunately this is only the beginning of her attempt to force us to pay for ever increasing arms spending as well as the refusal of the Starmer government to do anything to tax the rich and powerful.

The truth is that Reeves, backed by Starmer, is flying blind. She claims that this is a great scheme to get the sick and disabled into work but has no idea how many who are losing benefits will be able to find any work. Her ‘financial headroom’ is all but wiped out already and she and Starmer are waiting in trepidation for Donald Trump’s ‘liberation day’ tariffs this week. Even if Britain escapes them directly the trade wars will hit Britain’s economy and therefore her space for manoeuvre over spending.

Everything we know about Reeves and Starmer points to the fact that in such a situation they will find more areas to cut from working class people rather than challenge the priorities of capital and its defenders. So we can expect more cuts, attacks on pensions, and before long a rise in income tax. Meanwhile the rumour is the government is planning to drop the Digital Services Tax in exchange for Trump not imposing tariffs – something that will benefit Elon Musk and other US tech billionaires.

But perhaps the most shocking aspect of this government is its pivot away from giving any semblance of a government promoting welfare, ending poverty or green energy policies. Reeves and Starmer have decided that rearming Europe and turning Britain into a permanent war economy is good for growth, good giving a handout to some of the biggest manufacturing firms who produce weapons, and good for banging the drum and waving the flag.

It also chimes with a growth of warmongering and nationalism across Europe. As Norway’s opposition parties try to lift a ban on investing in arms companies so France and Germany are both rearming and promoting nationalist ideas in the wake of Trump’s demand that they all spend more on ‘defence’. Starmer and Lammy here claim that Russia is the greatest threat to world peace. While opposing Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and his own warmongering and militarism, the threat from him is incomparably less than it is from Trump.

Trump is threatening to take over Greenland (whose foreign policy is controlled by Denmark, a member of the EU and Nato). He wants to make Canada the 51st state. Not a word of criticism from the British government on either count, given that Nato is supposed to support its member states from attack by others, and that the British king is nominally head of state in Canada. Trump is also launching trade wars across the globe – but far from criticise him and his far-right policies, the other western imperialist powers are appeasing him.

You would think that Britain hardly spent anything on defence but actually it is the 6th biggest military spender in the world. Its military is intricately tied to that of the US technologically and politically. It is competing in an arms race which saw a record $2.4 trillion spent last year worldwide. None of this makes Britain more safe: real security means investing in dealing with climate change, dealing with and eliminating the causes of terrorism, eradicating poverty, ensuring everyone has access to housing and healthcare.

Starmer is on completely the opposite trajectory – as loyal Observer columnist Andrew Rawnsley wrote this week ‘Khaki is the new green’ as Reeves talks about a defence industrial superpower. It may be hubristic nonsense, but this is their serious orientation. It will require massive state investment at the expense of public services. It requires the constant existence of an ‘enemy’ which this expenditure is meant to deter.

We cannot allow them to deflect the anger we feel at what is happening to working class people against workers of other countries, or against refugees. We must instead fight round the slogan of the hour, which is welfare not warfare. As Tony Benn used to say, if there’s money for tanks and bombs, there’s money for schools and hospitals. The demonstration on June 7th against austerity 2.0 takes on a very great importance in this light and will be a large manifestation of every movement who backs this demand.

The summit of resistance on Saturday demonstrated the thirst for opposition to Starmer’s policies, with a big attendance and spirited atmosphere. I didn’t go to the session on a new left party but that was the only one that I think had a sectarian atmosphere. It also led some people to think that was the point of the event – which it wasn’t. Instead it was an attempt to bring different campaigns together. Such campaigns shouldn’t be reduced to one party because they can draw in people from a wide spectrum of the left, whatever their political differences. Nor can they simply be amalgamated for the same reason. Indeed, amalgamation can lead to lack of focus and therefore to weakness not strength.

After Wednesday there is a shift in the political atmosphere as more people realise the brutality of this Labour government. June 7th is a chance to bring these and much more together in a show of mass opposition to the government’s austerity and warmongering. We mustn’t blow this chance.

Do Quakers have a right to protect places of worship?

I met with French comrades over the weekend and we talked about how the protest movement is being criminalised across Europe – and of course in Trump’s US. This is particularly over Palestine but it isn’t stopping there. As states become more authoritarian so they reach for new powers to deter or silence protest. I was interviewed by police under caution this week for breach of the Public Order Act for being on a proposed delegation to the BBC on January 18th. Fellow organisers Ben Jamal and Chris Nineham have been charged. Others of us may wait months before knowing whether we will be or not.

This in itself is very unusual in my long experience of organising demos. But even more shocking were the events of Thursday night where a Friends’ Meeting House in the west end of London had its door broken down by police who arrested six young women who were discussing climate change and Palestine protests. Ironically, last week too Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced legislation to ban Palestine marches near synagogues and other places of worship to protect the right to worship peacefully – something the movement has objected to strongly.

Where will this leave the Quakers, the most peace loving and pacifist of religions? This is probably the worst state persecution they have suffered since the 17th century. They have very strongly objected to the raid and linked it the passing of ever more repressive laws on protest in recent years. Will Cooper support their right not to be harassed, or is some worship more worthy of protection than others?

This week: Meetings: on Tuesday I am speaking at a mass rally for Welfare not Warfare, on Thursday an online rally in solidarity with the people of Turkey and on Saturday to Brighton for the local Stop the War Coalition AGM. I’m also planning to write a review of Pankaj Mishra’s The World After Gaza.