Introduction

The consumption of valuable resources by the defence industries has caused serious structural distortions in the British economy, and the very nature of modern-day warfare is more terrifying and promises even greater devastation than could have been contemplated by our predecessors. When the Interim Report of the Labour Party National Executive Committee’s Study Group on Defence Expenditure, the Arms Trade and Alternative Employment was published in 1976, it was seen in the press as representing a radical departure from previous policy. The truth of the matter is that Labour’s interest in reducing defence spending has a long and consistent history. A tripartite committee consisting of representatives from the General Council of the TUC, the National Executive of the Labour Party and delegates from the Parliamentary Labour Party.