Reacting to the close of the NATO Summit, Green Party MP Ellie Chowns said:
“NATO leaders have fawned over a bullying, bellicose US President and agreed to a long-term doubling of arms spending that will come at the cost of cuts in vital health and public services across member states.
“The NATO summit has left us all more exposed to the threat of nuclear war and failed to offer people across the world a strategic vision of a more peaceful world.
“Here in the UK, the Labour government has already slashed aid for the most vulnerable around the world to make way for increased arms spending and next week will try to force through cuts to disability support to pay for more.
“We do not need new US-controlled fighter jets to carry US-controlled nuclear weapons paid for by UK taxpayers that will make the world a more dangerous place.
“The UK government should be leading efforts to reduce and eliminate nuclear arsenals, not paying for the US to base more of them here.
“There is a choice to be made between welfare and warfare.
“Genuine security means making sure the most vulnerable have the support needed for a decent life and we all have a government focussed on tackling the biggest long-term threats to human security – climate breakdown, global inequality, pandemics.
“Real security is built on social, economic, and environmental resilience, not more nuclear weapons.
“Green MPs will be opposing the government’s welfare cuts next week and offering a real alternative that puts people’s welfare and the planet’s future first.”