Why Labour members should campaign against the arms trade this week

Saudi-led forces bombed a prison facility in Yemen yesterday, killing 100 people. It was one of many devastating atrocities that have been inflicted in the four-year war. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed as a result of the bombardment, which has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

At this stage, it is impossible to know the origin of the weapons that were used in the assault. But with the UK government having licensed £5.3bn worth of fighter jets, bombs and missiles to Saudi forces since the war began, there is every chance that they were made here in Britain.

Next week, the Saudi regime will be among the guests invited to East London for the Defence and Security Equipment International 2019 (DSEI), one of the biggest arms fairs in the world. While there, Saudi representatives will be greeted by UK civil servants and given the opportunity to meet with other buyers from around the world, and all of the biggest arms companies.

The guest list reads like a who’s who of human rights abusers, with further delegations invited from Bahrain, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Hong Kong, which is currently using UK-made tear gas in its brutal crackdown against pro-democracy campaigners.

DSEI couldn’t happen without the fundamental support of our government. The delegations in attendance are there at the invitation of Whitehall. The civil servants who are greeting them are funded by taxpayers, and attendees will be able to hear from senior cabinet ministers who will be making keynote speeches throughout.

This support isn’t new, and unfortunately, in the past, it hasn’t just been limited to the Tories. Over the last 70 years, Labour governments have done just as much to promote arms sales as Conservative ones. In the 1960s, it was Harold Wilson’s Labour government that established the precursor to the Defence and Security Organisation, a 100-strong team of civil servants employed for the sole purpose of promoting the sale of weapons around the world.

In the 1970s, Labour and Conservative governments followed the same policy of arms promotion – with a particular focus on maximising sales to Iran. Likewise, in the 1990s Tony Blair was always happy to boost arms exports; in fact, many of the fighter jets being used against Yemen today were licensed under his premiership.

Support for arms sales may have been an institutional issue rather than a party political one, but over recent years that has changed. Jeremy Corbyn has been a long-term opponent of the industry, and, since his election as leader, he and his shadow cabinet colleagues have unambiguously committed the party to ending arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other forces that are bombing Yemen. This would represent not just a major break from UK foreign policy, but also from the actions of successive Labour governments.

It could also be a big step in building an alternative industrial strategy for a modern and forward-looking UK. Amid renewed talk of a green new deal, there is an opportunity for the next Labour government to harness the skills of people currently employed by arms companies to boost greener and better areas of engineering, rather than maintaining support for those that depend on war and conflict to make a profit.

Thankfully, it won’t just be tens of thousands of arms dealers that are descending on the Excel Centre in the days ahead, there will also be thousands of protesters, including many Labour Party members. All of this week, campaigners will be standing in solidarity with people living through war and oppression. They will be using their voices to challenge the system, and their bodies to block the roads to stop the weapons from getting to the venue.

The arms companies don’t like transparency, and hate to be held accountable. That is why – particularly at a time when the vast majority of the political focus is on Brexit – we need as many people as possible to join us in sending the message that arms sales, and arms fairs like DSEI, can never be acceptable. The consequences of the deals being discussed in East London could be felt for years. The types of weapons on display could be used against civilians for decades to come.

I came to the peace movement through the same values that have led many to join the Labour Party. They are the values of human rights, equality and democracy. If the UK is to play a positive role on the world stage, these are the same values that must be core to our foreign policy.

If you want to help us stop the arms sales and shut down DSEI, come and join us. You can find details below and more here.

Our week of action (2nd – 8th September 2019; Excel Centre, London, E16):

Monday 2nd September: Stop Arming Israel
Tuesday 3rd September: No Faith in War
Wednesday 4th September: No Nuclear
Thursday 5th September: Conference at the Gates
Friday 6th September: Climate Justice
Saturday 7th September: Festival of Resistance
Sunday 8th September: Borders & Migration