George Robertson’s recent intervention reflects a dangerous idea gaining ground in British politics: that if the government wants to spend more on the military, it should look to welfare to make room for it. Conscience rejects this false choice. Real security is not built through war preparation alone, but through housing, healthcare, stable communities, diplomacy and peacebuilding. Britain needs priorities that protect people and fund peace, not war.

Conscience is deeply alarmed by the ongoing US and Israeli military attacks on Iran. Airstrikes on major cities and threats of further escalation risk igniting a catastrophic regional war with devastating human consequences.

On 27 January 2026, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the clock to 85 seconds to midnight, representing the closest we have ever been to global catastrophe