Peace campaigners say new budget makes ordinary people pay for nuclear war drive

Photo by Sunguk Kim on Unsplash

The government has presented the Budget 2025 as a plan for stability and security, but the details tell a very different story. In the announcement, there is a clear pattern; rising taxes on ordinary people, deepening militarisation, renewed nuclear expansion, and a refusal to invest in real human security.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has confirmed that taxes have risen more under this Parliament than at any time since 1970, with frozen income tax thresholds continuing to extract billions from ordinary households.

Rather than funding hospitals, schools, or local services, the public is being asked to pay more to support the government's war-first agenda.

Because the government has frozen income tax thresholds, more people will be pulled into paying tax - and more will end up paying higher rates - as wages rise with inflation. This is why the freeze is expected to raise around £12.7 billion a year for the government by 2030. Meanwhile, billions are being poured into nuclear submarine infrastructure, defence industry hubs, new nuclear reactors, and nuclear-capable weapons systems linked to NATO demands.

What the Budget says about nuclear and defence

In the budget, the government has confirmed that it will publish a new report on the nuclear industry in the coming three months, which is expected to make recommendations on the UK's civil and defence nuclear future. Alongside this, the government plans to "cut red tape" to accelerate the construction of new nuclear power stations, effectively fast-tracking new projects.

The Budget also reaffirms the continued development of defence industry hubs in Barrow, Plymouth, Derby, and the Clyde, framed as part of the government's long-term industrial strategy.

A repeated commitment is made for the UK to reach 2.6% of GDP in military spending by 2027. The government emphasises an "age of insecurity," and its continued support for NATO to justify ongoing military expansion.

Our assessment

These measures reveal a government intent on accelerating nuclear expansion and shielding it from public scrutiny.

Increasing military spending to 2.6% of GDP not only makes Britain less safe, it also further damages the British economy, draining hundreds of billions of public finances into projects - from the F-35A nuclear-capable jets to the replacement of Britain's own nuclear submarines - where costs continue to spiral with no parliamentary accountability.

The upcoming nuclear industry report risks further blurring the line between civilian nuclear power and the military nuclear sector, reinforcing a system where both are politically and financially intertwined. "Cutting red tape" means the government is weakening democratic oversight and pushing nuclear power stations through despite local objections, environmental concerns and spiralling construction costs.

By rebranding defence sites as "industry hubs", the government is reinforcing the myth that militarism can kick start Britain's ailing economy and boost jobs. Nothing could be further from the truth, with public funds instead boosting profits for private arms companies whilst social deprivation in these communities continues to rise. CND supports the research in the Alternative Defence Review which shows public transport and health sectors deliver far more jobs. The report advocates for investment in defence diversification, to create an economy based on sustainable, safe alternatives that will ensure people and planet can survive and actually flourish. See: https://cnduk.org/ADR/

CND General Secretary, Sophie Bolt said: "The government is hiking taxes faster than any time since the 1970s, not to fix the NHS or support struggling households, but to keep feeding the arms industry and expand the UK's nuclear footprint. This is security for defence contractors, not for the British public.

"This Budget is a direct assault on people's lives. While families are pushed deeper into poverty, the government is throwing hundreds of billions at a war drive no one voted for - from uncosted nuclear-capable jets to a new wave of untested nuclear reactors forced onto communities with no safeguards. They call it security; we call it what it is: a reckless diversion of public money into weapons, war and nuclear expansion.

"It's time to scrap this war-first agenda, cut military and nuclear spending, and build a peaceful, people-first future instead."