Ex-NATO chief would rather spend money on bombs than benefits – despite veterans struggling most

The former chief of NATO, George Robertson, has said the government is spending too much on welfare and not enough on war.

As the Canary’s Joe Glenton reported, Robertson slammed Starmer for not being a big enough warmonger for his liking. The ex-defence secretary was speaking in Salisbury when he took aim at Starmer’s government for delaying a 10-year investment plan into the Strategic Defence Review that he delivered in 2025.

He said

We are under-prepared. We are under-insured. We are under attack. We are not safe… Britain’s national security and safety is in peril. There is a corrosive complacency today in Britain’s political leadership.

Lip service is paid to the risks, the threats, the bright red signals of danger – but even a promised national conversation about defence can’t be started.

This is bullshit enough when defence spending was expected to reach £62.2 billion in the last financial year, projected to rise to £73.5 billion by 2028/29. But, being a rich over-privileged tosser, he couldn’t resist sticking the boot in about benefits either.

He continued

We cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget.

It’s true that welfare is a lot higher than ‘defence’, but arguably that’s because we should be doing more to support our citizens than drag them into wars they didn’t consent to and put their lives in danger to suck up to Trump and Putin. All to bomb people in the Global South.

NATO chief ignores how military complex worsens disability and poverty

What Robertson is, of course, missing is that there’s a crossover here. Due to the fact that working-class people are drawn into the military, used as cannon fodder, and then cast aside, many veterans are on benefits and struggling to survive.

In 2024, 65,000 veterans were on Universal Credit, up from 40,100 in 2022. By comparison, there are only around 82,000 currently serving in the British Army.

Also in 2024, a Trussell study found that veterans disproportionately struggle to afford to live. The research found that 27% of veterans had run out of food in the 12 months leading up to the survey, and could not afford more. This is almost double the number for households without a veteran, where it was 14%

The study also found that 28% of veterans or someone in their household had gone without essentials like medicines, essential journeys, clothing, and food in the six months prior to the survey. 9% told Trussell they were struggling to keep up with bills. 77% of those struggling said it had been that way over six months.

And it’s, of course, even worse for disabled veterans. 29% of those with mental health conditions and 15% of physically disabled vets struggled with bills, compared to 9% overall. 16% of disabled veterans were unable to heat their home, and one in ten of those with a mental health condition had received an emergency food parcel in the last month.

When crusty old war-obsessed losers like ex-NATO chief Robertson take aim at the welfare budget, they always conveniently forget just how many disabled and poor people the military complex creates. The military class are more than happy to destroy working-class lives, but heaven forbid we actually support the ex-soldiers it spits out.

Featured image via the Canary