John Healey and Keir Starmer stand outside BAE Systems' shipyard in Barrow

Europe has been put on a war footing this week with EU leaders agreeing to a €800 billion plan to massively ramp up military spending. Meanwhile in Britain, Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed the arms industry will help revitalise former industrial towns and cities. And over 100 Labour MPs and peers have called on pension firms, banks, and investors to remove rules and treat weapons manufacturers as “ethical” investment opportunities. Yes, you read that right.

But this increased spending for war - be it funded by austerity, taxes, or borrowing – won’t help our ailing economies. In the latest CND blog, economist Mick Burke argues that there is “no benefit to the wider economy from a tank, a bomb, or a missiles system…” He writes that “military spending has one of the lowest ‘employment multipliers’ compared to other economic categories. It ranks 70th in terms of the employment it generates, out of 100. Health is rated number 1. Everything from agriculture to energy to food manufacture, chemicals, iron and steel, to computers, construction, all have greater ‘employment multipliers’ than military spending

Read the full post here

Poster advertising Palestine Coalition demonstration on 15 March

Palestine coalition statement on 15 March demonstration

With the next national demonstration for Palestine just 8 days away, the Metropolitan Police continues to hamper efforts of the Palestine Coalition to organise the march. Despite submitting a proposed route on 18 February, they have yet to respond with any conditions on the proposed route, rendering us unable to announce the route as hoped on 28 February. As a result, we are of the view that the Met is actively trying to diminish our ability to mobilise a large and successful demonstration and impact upon our ability to challenge any conditions imposed. You can read the Coalition's full statement here.

Read the statement

We will update supporters of developments and any updates on both the main and accessible route will be posted to the event page on our website here.

CND is moving office

The CND office is moving from Holloway Road on Monday 17 March to new premises. Our new address is Unit 0.2, The Green House, 244 – 254 Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2 9DA. Our telephone number will remain the same.