UK Must Invest In Peace As Well As Defence To Make World A Safer Place, Says Labour Peer

A resident reacts after a Russian missile hit a multi-storey apartment during Russia's combined missile and drone air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)The world is a more dangerous place than it has been since 1945. From Ukraine to the Middle East, Sudan to Myanmar, conflict is fuelling mass atrocities and forcing families to undertake dangerous journeys to seek safety elsewhere. The prime minister’s recent decision to bolster the UK’s defences was the right thing to do. Building up our military is essential to deter the threats to our security, but it is not enough. Without sustained investment in conflict prevention and resolution, we are fighting with one hand tied behind our back.Wars do not respect borders. They destroy trade and infrastructure, driving up prices and destabilising the global economy. They force families to flee their homes and seek refuge in other countries. They create the perfect conditions for armed groups to thrive, exploiting the real grievances of communities. And violent conflict destroys the land and infrastructure that feeds and houses the families caught in the firing line.That is why more than 60 leading figures, including senior national security experts and academics, have signed an open letter to Keir Starmer urging him to give peacebuilding serious recognition in the upcoming National Security Strategy. Signatories include former foreign and defence secretaries, leading current parliamentarians of all parties, and faith leaders. We are united in our belief that conflict prevention is as important and effective as conventional defence strategies.The evidence is clear. The Institute for Economics and Peace calculates that every £1 spent on conflict prevention saves £16 from violence prevention. And since the early 2000s, the UK’s focus on peacebuilding and development has made a significant impact in countries such as the Philippines, Ethiopia and Colombia.Work in preventing conflict and supporting development in fragile countries is not an add on. It is as vital as building a 21st century military, as set out in the Strategic Defence Review.So, as the country moves towards “war-fighting readiness” we must not abandon our efforts to prevent conflict. And just as the UK’s defence capability needs ring-fenced, long investment, so too does peacebuilding. Yet the UK’s Integrated Security Fund, which funds most civilian conflict prevention efforts, is about to be cut and its scope narrowed to immediate national security work. The letter to the PM calls for the proportion of UK spend on peacebuilding to return to 2016 levels, just 4% of development spend ringfenced for long term gain. arlier this week Alex Ballinger MP, who joins me as co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Conflict Prevention, Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding, warned that reducing support for peacebuilding increases the danger we face.He said: “In this dangerous world, we’ve done the right thing investing in our military, but we need to back that up by investing in proper conflict prevention on the ground. The UK has an excellent reputation here. Pulling back now puts us all more at risk.”Global insecurity is a test for us all, but we will not succeed in defeating the threats we face if we do not invest in peace. Lord Jack McConnell was UK Special Representative for Peacebuilding from 2008-2010 and First Minister of Scotland from 2001-2007.

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