It's worth comparing defence spending of the UK and non-Nato countries
In 2024 the UK spent $82 billion on defence at 2.3% of GDP whereas the Republic of Ireland next door spent $1.5bn, or 0.25% of GDP. Switzerland, which potentially lies in the immediate path of the invading eastern hordes, spent $6.7bn or 0.7% of GDP on defence last year. Mind you, the Germans and the Russians stayed well clear of Switzerland last time, funny that.
READ MORE: Scottish Government criticised over arms firms funding review
Are we to assume that these countries will also eventually be expected to funnel 5% of their GDP into the coffers of the military-industrial complex to keep the Reds at bay? Maybe they will deal with all the casualties caused by the inevitable nuclear strike on Coulport, since there will be no NHS left by then if funding is diverted to defence.
David J Crawford
Glasgow
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
4 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Government ‘putting its money where its mouth is' with £200m for Acorn scheme
Ministers confirmed they are meeting in full the request for development funding for the Acorn project in Aberdeenshire – the first time a government has provided funding of this scale for such a project to proceed. The scheme, which proposes storing emissions from across Scotland under the North Sea, had previously been overlooked for support despite repeated calls from the Scottish Government and others for it to be backed. With the UK Government also pledging to support the Viking carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the Humber, Mr Miliband insisted the two schemes will 'support industrial renewal' with 'thousands of highly skilled jobs'. According to the sector, Acorn could support about 15,000 jobs at its peak, with up to 20,000 jobs at the Viking project. As it develops, it is planned the Acorn site will link up with the former oil refinery at Grangemouth via more than 200 miles of pipelines. An existing 175 miles of gas pipes will be repurposed for this, with 35 miles of new pipeline also being built, allowing CO2 from the Grangemouth site to be transported to Acorn's storage facilities under the North Sea. The move is seen by many as being key in securing a future for the facility, where some 400 workers were recently made redundant. Speaking as he visited the site near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Mr Miliband said: 'This Government is putting its money where its mouth is and backing the trailblazing Acorn and Viking CCS projects. 'This will support industrial renewal in Scotland and the Humber with thousands of highly-skilled jobs at good wages to build Britain's clean energy future. 'Carbon capture will make working people in Britain's hard-working communities better off, breathing new life into their towns and cities and reindustrialising the country through our Plan for Change.' Mr Miliband visited the site the day after Rachel Reeves promised funding for Acorn in her spending review – although the Chancellor did not put a figure on how much support would be given in her statement to MPs. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said afterwards: 'The £200 million funding confirmed for the Acorn carbon capture project will help to support the design and preparation as it continues to progress. 'This is about revitalising our industrial communities and creating long-term economic opportunities for Scottish workers.' Tim Stedman, chief executive of Storegga, the lead developer of Acorn, said: 'We warmly welcome the UK Government's support for the Acorn project and the commitment to development funding that will enable the critical work needed to reach final investment decision.' He added the 'milestone' is 'key not only for Acorn but for establishing Scotland's essential CCS infrastructure needed to grow and scale the UK's wider carbon capture and storage industry'. Mr Stedman continued: 'We look forward to working with Government in the months ahead to understand the details of today's commitment, and to ensure the policy, regulatory and funding frameworks are in place to build and grow a world-leading UK CCS sector.' Graeme Davies, executive vice-president at Harbour Energy, which is leading the Viking project, said the commitment in the spending review 'sends a strong signal' that the project is 'an infrastructure-led economic growth priority' for the Parliament. He added: 'We will work with Government on the critical steps needed to progress Viking CCS towards a final investment decision.' However climate campaigners at Friends of the Earth said the money should instead be invested in public transport, energy efficiency and measures to support oil workers to transition to jobs in the renewables sector. Caroline Rance, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: 'This is an enormous handout of supposedly scarce public money that will only directly benefit greedy oil and gas companies. 'Politicians are paying hundreds of millions to keep us locked into an unaffordable energy system which is reliant on fossil fuels and is destroying the climate. 'Carbon capture technology has 50 years of failure behind it, so businesses, workers and the public are being sold a lie about its role in their future. 'Building new fossil fuel infrastructure will undermine the energy transition and embolden oil firms to keep on drilling in the North Sea. 'Both the UK and Scottish governments should instead be backing climate solutions that can improve people's lives such as upgrading public transport, ensuring people live in warm homes and creating green jobs for the long-term.'
Daily Record
5 hours ago
- Daily Record
Scotland's justice secretary pledges £6m more to tackle youth violence after latest summit
Angela Constance announced the move following the latest emergency event at St Andrew's House in Edinburgh on Thursday. Scotland's justice secretary has pledged an additional £6m to tackle youth violence after the latest summit. Cabinet Secretary Angela Constance announced the move following the latest emergency event at St Andrew's House in Edinburgh. The cash will come next year as part of the Scottish Government's Cashback for Communities Fund. It comes amid the Record's applauded Our Kids ... Our Future campaign which was launched two years ago in response to a youth violence epidemic. As part of the campaign, we have repeatedly demanded the Scottish Government to invest in young people, so they can be nurtured, mentored and guided in every community. Speaking to the Record yesterday afternoon, Constance said: "I have increased investment in the Violence Reduction Unit and Medics Against Violence. "Today, we reopened the cashback for communities fund which will be £26m over the next three years. "That is about directly funding youth-related activities. Some of that work helps to keep young people out of the justice system and on the right side of the law." The total amount of cash to go to kids between next year and 2029 will be £26 - an increase of £6m from the £20m announced as part of the fund in 2023. Scotland has been rocked by three blade tragedies in less than 12 months. Kory McCrimmon, 16, died after he was stabbed in Glasgow's Greenfield Park on May 31, 2024. Amen Teklay, 15, died after he was found seriously injured on a street in the city's Maryhill on March 5 this year. Just weeks later, 16-year-old Kory McCrimmon died in hospital following an incident at Irvine Beach in Ayrshire on May 17. Three teenage boys aged 14, 15, and 16 have been arrested and charged in connection with the death of Amen, an Eritrean refugee, while three male youths - a pair aged 17 and a 14-year-old - appeared in court charged with the murder of Kayden. And just last month, a 14-year-old boy was sentenced to five years detention after admitting culpable homicide following the death of Kory at the park in Glasgow's east end. Constance went on to admit there is little she can say to comfort the parents of the boys involved in all three tragedies. She said: "I know there is probably little I can say to comfort grieving families. "I also know from my direct engagement with families of victims who have suffered a fatality that what they want more than anything, is to know that this won't happen to any other families. "They also want to know that the risk of this happening to others is reduced. "That's why we are so focused on prevention because that is the best and most effective way to prevent other families from facing this." Jimmy Paul, head of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, also attended the emergency summit. He urged the Scottish Government to invest in youth work at all levels. He said: "In Scotland, we know creating safe spaces is a big part of youth work but so is other forms of youth work such as having steet workers, having positive role models, having whole-family support and addressing their trauma. "There is no silver bullet but we need to work on all of these things. "My hope now is that after this summit, we see more funding in all of these things to prevent youth crime." Dr Christine Goodall, founder of Medics Against Violence, added: "Youth work is important both within work and in education settings. "After today's summit, we'd like to see this be made a priority. "We know that not all young people have access to youth work and that youths often don't get access to a trusted adult. "We'd like to see these things prioritised and more support for families." Vicky Donald, whose then 12-year-old daughter Kaylynn was battered on a school bus on her way home from class in Ladybank, FIfe in October 2022, said the funding was a "drop in the ocean" for the Scottish Government. The 38-year-old said: "It's is a drop in the ocean and won't stretch far enough. The entire £ 26 isn't spread evenly enough - particularly if you look into breaking cash down into local areas. "The majority of this cash will go to densely populated areas. Some of the cash will even go to sport centres. "This crisis needs a specific fund where cash goes directly to tackling youth violence. epidemic is. "What are they doing to make the streets safer? Nothing." Angela Jarvis' daughter, Abbie, also aged 12 at the time of her attack, was left with PTSD following the brutal beating at a skatepark in Drumchapel just three after Kaylynn's assault. The mum called on the Scottish Government to stretch its funding further to help kids affected by crime. Angela, 44, said: "An additional £6m is welcomed but it isn't really enough to tackle this crisis and children who are affected by it. "The funding should go wider than just youth work - kids are facing a mental health crisis caused by violence and its aftermath. There needs to be more money for that too."
The National
5 hours ago
- The National
Why does Scottish Government think a UK wellbeing economy is possible?
OVER the weekend, the independence movement will begin to address an issue that the Scottish Government has so far been unwilling to confront: the need to get practical about a wellbeing economy. On Saturday, I will deliver a session on the principles of the wellbeing economy in an independent Scotland as part of the IFS Summer Convention taking place in Perth, which will bring together representatives from across the independence movement. The desire for the independence movement to take the lead on the wellbeing economy reflects many of the conversations I've had this year. But before we can define a 'wellbeing economy', we need to examine its principles. What does a wellbeing economy look like? To do that, we must ask: What does a society built around wellbeing actually look like? Not just in theory – but how will it function, what will its values be, and what choices must it make? Within the independence movement, people don't struggle with the idea of a wellbeing economy, but their vision is often rather hazy. The conversation which starts on Saturday presents a unique opportunity to solidify the vision for a wellbeing economy in an independent Scotland. To ground the conversation, I offer three simple statements on which all of the readers, I hope, can agree. We do not have a wellbeing economy right now. A true wellbeing economy will look very different from today's economy. A wellbeing economy (whatever that looks like in the UK) seems further away each year. A wellbeing economy stands at the forefront of a progressive, independent Scotland. The concept of a wellbeing economy was one of the five key policy areas underpinning the Scottish Government's most recent economic prospectus (as part of the UK), the 2022 National Strategy for Economic Transformation. The report aimed to set out 'the priorities for Scotland's economy as well as the actions needed to maximise the opportunities of the next decade to achieve our vision of a wellbeing economy'. The strategy suggested that a wellbeing economy would deliver higher employment and wage growth rates and significantly reduce structural poverty. It would also improve health, cultural, and social outcomes for disadvantaged families and communities while part of the UK. In sum, the paper states that a wellbeing economy is possible in Scotland as part of the UK, a statement that I would strongly oppose. A Stronger Economy with Independence, released later in 2022, was the Scottish Government's vision for Scotland's economy once independent. It remains the most recent version. It opens with the line: 'We will use the full powers of independence to build an inclusive, fair, wellbeing economy that works for everyone in Scotland.' It is therefore easy to claim that the wellbeing economy is the destination for a better Scotland, whether as part of the UK or as an independent nation. However, as Aileen McLeod, director of WEAll Scotland, highlighted, a major concern for many in the wellbeing movement is that we can not deliver a wellbeing economy within the current economic system. READ MORE: John Swinney and Anas Sarwar clash over reports SNP figures plotting to oust FM McLeod said recently: 'While some progress has been made, there are concerns that the Government is retreating and falling back on an outdated economic model that cannot deliver the transformative change that people and communities across Scotland urgently need.' Like many general economic frameworks, a wellbeing economy is a contested term. Even in a relatively small group of activists and policymakers in Scotland, those engaged with the concept have differing views on the details or extent of the change required to create one. Is it a slow transition or a rapid transformation? Can we keep the best bits of capitalism and refocus our growth efforts? Do we simply need to de-prioritise the role of markets? Or do we require a new paradigm? The fork in the road To move the meeting on Saturday forward (and the movement as a whole), attendees will consider one question: Can our current economic system (or more precisely, the one in which we will begin our life as an independent nation again) deliver a wellbeing economy? It will be very interesting to see where the meeting lands. I believe that the Scottish Government is attempting to establish a wellbeing economy on economic foundations that will ultimately undermine its wellbeing policies. The IFS Summer Convention marks an opportunity for the movement to take the lead. If we accept that wellbeing is not part of the economic system at the moment, we open up space to think more radically – and more honestly – about what's needed. We can only assess that economic system if we understand it. READ MORE: UK economy sees biggest drop since October 2023 in blow for Rachel Reeves Since the late 1970s, we've been governed by a growth-first framework. Under neoliberalism, that system prizes an increase in GDP, productivity, and profit. There is little space for wellbeing. I have termed this the growth paradigm, and it views wellbeing policies – such as job guarantees, shorter workweeks, or community ownership – as non-essential. I would argue, in fact, that it views them as luxuries that we can not afford, or perhaps even as threats. But what does the independence movement think? Well, hopefully we will get a good idea of that over the weekend. The challenge is clear. How do we get from where we are now to a very different economy? Do we need to compromise? And if so, what social beliefs, ethical values and standards do we choose to include and which ones do we leave out? How will the economy we are likely to inherit when we are independent again support wellbeing policies? And the big one: How do we create the political and economic space in an independent Scotland to make that happen?
