STUC delegates backed calls for an end to the recent ramping-up of arms spending by almost 20 per cent in just three years.

Responding to motions submitted by Clydebank, Glasgow, Midlothian, North Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire TUCs, the general council agreed a statement today that committed congress to being an “educator for, and a campaigner on, peace.”

Military spending now accounts for 2.1 per cent of Britain’s GDP, exceeding the 2 per cent target set for Nato members, reflecting the priorities of a government and a Tory Defence Secretary — Grant Shapps — who recently stated we have moved from a “post-war to a pre-war world.”

Congress backed a general council statement calling for investment in re-skilling arms industry workers to support other challenges such as meeting targets to transition away from carbon-heavy industries.

But it caused some division, with GMB delegate John Dollan telling delegates: “Military spending needs to be increased.

“It’s not about sending bombs and guns to foreign countries, it’s about defending this country.

“We have Russian ships sailing up the Clyde every day and their planes circling over our skies. We cannot be a nation of shopkeepers,” he said.

Tam Morrison, of Clydebank TUC, argued that rocketing defence spending — including some £7.1 bn in aid to Ukraine since the war with Russia began — exposed the operation of international capitalism.

Backing the general council statement, he told congress: “The huge increases in spending expose the role the government is really playing in the proxy war in Ukraine.

“The US and the UK should be playing a role in bringing peace to the region, but the truth is that there’s too much money to be made in war.”