The party’s rise has been fuelled by strong patriotic messaging, yet important questions remain about its approach to security and armed violence.

This briefing examines Elbit Systems’ role as a major supplier of military equipment used by Israel in Gaza, explores allegations concerning potential links between its products and alleged violations of international humanitarian law, assesses claims regarding the involvement of its UK subsidiaries in Israeli military supply chains, and considers the implications of applying terrorism legislation to Palestine Action activists who targeted Elbit facilities.

The resignations of Defence Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns reflect a defence establishment mindset that treats military spending as an endlessly escalating necessity, despite the reality that no level of funding will ever satisfy the demands of the military-industrial complex.

Action on Armed Violence has joined a coalition of UK organisations in endorsing a statement urging universities to reject the Defence Universities Alliance, warning that closer ties between higher education and the defence sector risk undermining academic independence and accelerating the militarisation of campuses.

A former NATO commander warns that sentimentality about Washington risks drawing Britain into wars that lack strategy

More than 1,500 academics and students have signed an open letter urging UK universities to end defence industry partnerships worth an estimated £2.5bn, intensifying debate over the role of military funding in higher education.

Britain’s defence industry has quietly embedded itself in Westminster’s political circles, donating nearly £180,000 to military-linked All-Party Parliamentary Groups between 2023 and 2025, reinforcing the arms sector’s influence over parliamentary debate and policy formation.

The Ministry of Defence has received a qualified audit opinion after auditors found £6.13 billion in unverifiable assets (mostly linked to the Atomic Weapons Establishment) an overspend of £2.56 billion beyond parliamentary limits, and systemic record-keeping failures so severe that even its own finance chief, Aneen Blackmore, said she was “disappointed”.

The UK’s retreat from aid and surge in defence spending marks a historic reversal, with funds once tied to humanitarian relief now redirected towards military ends, arguably leaves fragile states, particularly in Africa, exposed to deeper instability and preventable loss of life.

A series of reports by Action on Armed Violence reveals that Britain’s military justice system is mired in secrecy, impunity, and institutional evasion, with elite units shielded from scrutiny, whistleblowers silenced, and the Ministry of Defence systematically resisting accountability.

The UK government’s proposed proscription of Palestine Action under terrorism laws marks a dangerous shift toward criminalising non-violent protest and moral solidarity in defence of human rights.

A decade and a half after a damning Parliamentary report exposed profiteering and poor oversight in QinetiQ’s privatisation, the UK government appears to be repeating the same mistakes with a new £1.54 billion defence contract lacking transparency, competition, and accountability.