We all hate to see Keir Starmer happy. Which, as it happens, works out fine because his government is such a shambling disaster that it’s a vanishingly rare sight. But yesterday, 27 October, he did look chuffed. Why, you may ask? Well, he signed an arms deal obviously.
The UK is selling 20 Typhoon fighter jets to Turkey. Turkey being an increasingly authorisation county which the UK itself urged to do better on human rights as recently as May.
Why would said human rights lawyer overlook this?
A few reasons. Arms firms jobs and £8 billion quid into the pockets of BAE Systems and Leonardo for a start. On top of this, Starmer is trying to make militarism central to the UK economy.
Additionally, the man every centrist claimed would fix the country with his adults-in-the-room approach has failed to do that so massively that Reform UK look set to take power. Yes, Reform UK. A political party whose policy platform sounds likes it was written on a beer mat by a group of wasted millionaires on a golf course. Which, to be fair, it probably was.
Any military win will do for Starmer, cue the UK-Turkey deal
So Starmer needs many things right now, but most of all he needs wins. And any opportunity to be photographed near military equipment and uniforms is a win in McSweeney World. Never mind that these kinds of deals benefit UK and US arms firm shareholders far – FAR – more than working people.
Anyway let’s have a laugh at Keith’s trip to Turkey. Here he is in front of fighter jet with a group of air forces personnel who will never vote for him:
Our deal with Türkiye is a win for British workers, a win for our defence industry, and a win for our security. pic.twitter.com/7PpdKCEodo
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 27, 2025
Here he is explaining how he’s secured a load of British jobs. This is always a questionable assertion in relation to the arms trade, but we’ll get to that:
I’ve just agreed a deal with Türkiye to secure 20,000 British jobs across the UK. pic.twitter.com/n9wCYL7rRj
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 27, 2025
I think who gasses you up says quite a lot about you. So here’s BAE Systems, who are absolutely delighted for Keith (and their own annual profits):
The UK Government has announced an agreement with the Republic of Türkiye for the purchase of 20 @eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, sustaining more than 20,000 highly skilled jobs across the UK supply chain.
This deal, worth £5.4bn, is great news for the UK – boosting @NATO… pic.twitter.com/C5kBcKiuHQ
— BAE Systems (@BAESystemsplc) October 27, 2025
Ditto, Anglo-Italian death firm Leonardo:
Today’s announcement that the Republic of Türkiye is to purchase 20 @eurofighter Typhoons from the UK, reinforces the important contribution that the aircraft makes to @NATO‘s collective deterrence.
The export deal will secure 1000s of highly skilled jobs including at Leonardo… pic.twitter.com/hj32Z186dc
— Leonardo in the UK 🇬🇧 (@Leonardo_UK) October 27, 2025
Spymaster and Turkish carpet aficionado
Richard Moore, the former head of MI6, gave Starmer no less than three clappy hands.
Not sure why he’s so happy but his government bio says he loves Turkish carpets so maybe wheeler-dealer Keir got some thrown in. Nice one, Del Boy:
— Richard Moore (@XChiefMI6) October 27, 2025
Defence acquisitions minister Luke Pollard, a man who manages to hold an important office of state while still somehow having minus aura, also referenced how defence deals and spending are good mechanisms for growth:
This is the biggest jet fighter export deal since 2007. It supports 20,000 UK jobs.
When we said we will make defence an engine for growth, we meant it.
— Luke Pollard MP (@LukePollard) October 27, 2025
Defence is not good for us
So we should probably deal with this claim. It is used a lot by governments of all colours. And it underpins the move towards what is called ‘military Keynesianism’. That essentially means putting war and militarism at the heart of the economy. The assumption is this will help everyone, largely via the creation of jobs. But even that argument doesn’t hold water.
In fact, this policy is a cynical corruption of the ideas of the economist John Maynard Keynes. And it demonstrably isn’t true. Here is a good breakdown from the armed forces monitor Forces Watch:
Apart from the fact that Keynes was an advocate of government spending ‘in the interests of peace and prosperity’ instead of ‘war and destruction’, as the economist Michael Burke explains, military spending has one of the lowest employment multipliers of all economic spheres.
This is just one of the examples given.
Labour look doomed. They seem to have no idea about how to avert their fate and, as they slip into the morass, they’re leaning into a clunky optics of militarism and flag-waving. That’s their call, for all the good it will do them.
But at the heart of the defence-industrial policy they are pushing out today is a singular lie. Militarism does not trickle down and benefit working people in any meaningful way. Rather it trickles up into pockets of arms firm shareholders. Let’s have that right, at least.
Featured image via the Canary
