Labour pushes ‘military Keynesianism’ to win support for defence spending | Defence policy

Labour’s push towards increased militarisation, with Keir Starmer already having slashed the aid budget in favour of defence spending, may not be a policy greeted enthusiastically by many of the party’s core supporters.

But the government wants to win support for the change in thinking by arguing that investment in defence helps create skilled jobs, particularly outside London, such as at shipyards in Barrow, Devonport, Glasgow and Rosyth.

This “military Keynesianism” was emphasised on Sunday morning when ministers announced plans to build six new munitions factories, which would in time create 1,000 jobs and support a further 800, the Ministry of Defence said.

John Healey, the defence secretary, argued that by “diverting funds from overseas development aid”, money would “go…