On April 15, at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs), the "debate" between the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, and the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, on Iran, "defence spending" and "welfare spending", further revealed the fraudulent and undemocratic nature of the warmongering cartel party system of government in Westminster [1].

Demonstration against US/Israeli bombing of Iran, US Embassy, March 7, 2026

The lead-in question from Labour MP Lauren Edwards tried to enhance the Prime Minister's posture as if he were against the Iran war and gloss over the reality that he continues the government's reckless warmongering path for the economy and in the world. In her question Lauren Edwards said that he "was right to resist us being drawn into an ill-conceived war in the middle east with apparently no clear plan for how it may end". However, she did not ask if the government had a plan to help stop this illegal attack by the US and Israel on Iran so that it really "may end". She then commented that "we are all rightly angry that our constituents will feel the impact of this war in their pockets and in their daily lives", but then went on to ask a completely different question: "Will he outline what steps he is taking both to support our armed forces and plan for all future contingencies?"

In his reply to the placed question, Starmer referred to "investing a record £9 billion to deliver the quality homes" for the armed forces. This when the government continues to refuse to deliver quality social housing available for all. Then with a usual parliamentary back and forth accusation to provoke the opposition leader he declared: "My principles are clear. That is a sharp contrast with the Leader of the Opposition, who wanted to jump into the war with both feet without thinking through the consequences." Yet the Prime Minister has himself jumped with "both feet" into this illegal US/Israeli war against Iran. He revealed this further himself as he tried to justify his credentials as supporting the attack on Iran when he declared that British pilots "within two hours" of this conflict starting "were up, risking their lives, taking missiles out of the sky". Also, not forgotten are the air base in the Chagos Islands and bases here in Britain that he and the government have allowed the US to use to bomb Iran.

The Leader of the Opposition in turn framed her question to Starmer by referring to a speech made the day before on April 14 by Lord Robertson - ex-NATO leader, former Chairman of BP Russian Investments Ltd and Senior Counsellor at the Washington DC based Cohen Group (USA) and currently the "special advisor to British Petroleum (BP)". Badenoch's reference was to the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) [2], of which Lord Robertson was both the chair and lead contributor. The review had been concluded for the government in June 2025. Robertson's speech was aimed at continuing to put Britain's economy and war industries on a war footing as highlighted by the SDR, with the false claim that Russia threatened war with Europe. However, Robertson himself is on record as openly representing BP oil interests in Russia before Britain and the US provoked the war with Russia in Ukraine in 2022 with the aim of seizing Russian oil assets along with those of Ukraine. Robertson criticised the government, saying that it has yet to provide a 10-year plan to fund the SDR in what he described as "vandalism" by "non-military experts in the Treasury" [!]. He also deliberately spread misinformation about welfare spending, claiming that Britain spends "five times as much on welfare" as it does on defence and that this was "jeopardising people's future safety and security" because Britain was not spending enough on weapons and war preparations.

Badenoch utilised this speech by saying that "these were Lord Robertson's criticisms of the Prime Minister, and that he had said that Britain's national security is 'in peril' and that our armed forces are at the end of their tether, waiting for this Government to fund the strategic defence review".

Starmer in replying to Badenoch then used the opportunity to justify the government's measures in further militarising the economy under this SDR in his remarks to "remind the House that we have put in place the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War". He declared: "Let me spell that out: that means we are spending £270 billion over this Parliament. That is £5 billion more this year, with defence funding increasing every year. These are record amounts - decisions of a Labour Prime Minister, a Labour Chancellor and a Labour Government."

Protest at RAF Fairford against US bombers taking off to bomb Iran, March 7 2026

Starmer also used this opportunity to champion the government's cuts to the welfare budget. He said that the government is "reforming welfare and spending more on defence" and claimed that the Conservatives did neither. On this Badenoch played her role as leader of the cartel party in opposition, declaring, "the Prime Minister will not fund our military, because he wants to fund more welfare. That is why he has a welfare plan to 2031, but no defence investment plan at all." She said, "Now that the Chagos surrender deal [3] is dead, will the Prime Minister put the billions saved from ditching Chagos into defence, or is that going into welfare as well?"

Following PMQs, the Secretary of State for Defence was asked to make a statement on his plans to fund the recommendations of the SDR, which continued in the same vein with the Minister for Defence Readiness, Luke Pollard. There was no attempt to discuss the SDR from the point of view of what peace and security for the British people entails. Any reading of the SDR reveals that it is disinformation to say it is about the defence or security of the country.

In this way, the fraudulent, dangerous and undemocratic nature of this pro-war cartel party exchange in Parliament whole-heartedly throws its weight behind the implementation of the government's SDR whatever the cost to the people. It demonstrates that these cartel parties attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the working class and people, when the reality is that these parties are united in their drive to militarise the economy and society. It reveals further the warmongering nature of the SDR and the cartel party system of government as one of supporting warfare and not the claims of the people on the social wealth that is produced by them.

As Workers' Weekly reflected on the content of the SDR [4] when it was published: "The premise of the Strategic Defence Review is that Britain must maintain its nefarious role in the world at all costs even if this threatens further wars that Britain cannot win and further impoverishes the British people. The SDR defends the arming of Israel by lauding the 20% of the US F-35 that is manufactured in Britain. It lauds the asset of the Akrotiri and Dhekélia sovereign base area of British overseas territory in Cyprus, from which it sends its cargo of death and its spy planes to Israel and Gaza as well launching its joint bombing attacks on Yemen that the SDR supports."

The Strategic Defence Review also blamed Hamas for the deaths in Israel and Gaza and not the Israeli genocide of the Palestinian people. This when Britain had always refused to recognise the national rights and resistance of the Palestinians with Britain being a major perpetrator of the occupation of Palestine and the suffering of the Palestinian people since the 1948 Nakba. The SDR claimed that Britain's security guarantees are linked to the US, NATO, the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), AUKUS and declared that the cause of peace is threatened by China, Russia, Iran and the DPRK, as well the resistance movements of the peoples of the world who are fighting for their right to be and to realise their aspirations for peace, freedom and democracy. The SDR labels them "non-state" actors against Britain's interest saying "the armed forces remain optimised for conflicts primarily fought against non-state actors on Europe's periphery and beyond".

The call to condemn the cartel parties and their support for the SDR

The SDR must have no takers among the working class and people if there is to be peace and not more war. It is necessary to take heed of the aims of the SDR and to organise against it and what it stands for. Starmer and the government's attempts to further step up its militarisation and support for Israel's daily war crimes against the Palestinians and in Lebanon, its support for the US/Israeli aggression against Iran, are unacceptable and must continue to be opposed. The attempt of Starmer and the government to involve Britain further in NATO's proxy war in Ukraine against Russia is totally unacceptable and it too must continue to be opposed.

The call of the times is for the people to speak out in their own name for all that serves their own interests for peace and security. The context is the fight for a new direction for the economy and society that meets the needs of all and defends the rights of all. The context is for political renewal against the police powers of the state, against the cartel party system in Westminster and for modern democratic arrangements which empower the people. The aim for the working class and people must be always to prepare to establish an Anti-War Pro-Social Government in Britain that resolves conflicts in a just and peaceful way and fully recognises the rights and claims of the working class and people in society.

Notes
1. Hansard, Commons Chamber, April 15, 2026
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026-04-15/debates/45e2fd46-eba3-4bf0-bfe0-408f66c688ce/CommonsChamber
2. Policy paper - The Strategic Defence Review 2025 - Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, June 2, 2025
Full document 144 pages:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-strategic-defence-review-2025-making-britain-safer-secure-at-home-strong-abroad
Two Page document:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/683dbe63d23a62e5d32680de/The_Strategic_Defence_Review_2025_-_two-pager.pdf
Document in Welsh: Adolygiad Amddiffyn Strategol 2025: Adolygiad Amddiffyn Strategol 2025:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-strategic-defence-review-2025-making-britain-safer-secure-at-home-strong-abroad/adolygiad-amddiffyn-strategol-2025-gwneud-prydain-yn-fwy-diogel-yn-gadarn-gartref-yn-gydnerth-dramor
3. The British Government has dropped/paused the Chagos sovereignty deal that would have transferred sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing Diego Garcia back to Britain for military use. Badenoch refers to the funds spent by the UK Government to lease back Diego Garcia from Mauritius when it was handed over. That now does not have to be paid. The US State Department initially backed the deal. Trump then publicly attacked it as a "big mistake" and an act of "weakness". The government had repeatedly said it would only proceed if the US supported it. Once Trump withdrew support, the British government cowardly gave in and refused to give Mauritius sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.
4. Strategic Defence Review: Starmer's Attempt to Put Britain on "War-Fighting Readiness" Cannot Be Accepted, Workers' Weekly June 7, 2025
https://www.rcpbml.org.uk/wwie-25/ww25-13/ww25-13-01.htm

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