£21 Billion for War While England Falls Apart

Since February 2022, the UK has committed over £21.8 billion in support for Ukraine.

This includes direct military aid, cash support, and government-backed loans that will sit on the public balance sheet for years to come.

This is not abstract money. It is public money, workers’ taxes — your taxes. And it is being committed at a time when England’s public services are visibly breaking down.

What £21.8 Billion Means in the Real World

Let’s be clear about scale.

£21.8 billion is more than the annual budget of many NHS Trusts combined.

It could fully resurface every major road in England, ending the pothole crisis councils say they cannot afford to fix.

It could properly fund jury service, ensuring working people are not financially punished for doing their civic duty, instead of floating the idea of abolishing juries.

It could restore ward staffing levels, social care capacity, ambulance response times, and mental health services that Trade Unions have been fighting to protect for over a decade.

Yet when it comes to the NHS, local government, courts, transport, or social care, workers are repeatedly told by the UK government:

“There is no money.”

What the UK Is Actually Paying For

Of the £21.8 billion committed:

£13.06 billion is military funding.

£10.8 billion of that is gifted aid — not loans, not recoverable. (Please read that again.)

A further £2.26 billion is a government loan under the G7 framework, supposedly to be repaid from frozen Russian assets — something that remains legally and politically uncertain.

£4.5 billion is earmarked for military financing in 2025 alone.

This funding is not coming from spare change.

It is drawn from the Treasury Reserve, ultimately underwritten by the UK taxpayer. In real terms, this means additional public borrowing — money our children will be paying for.

And Europe’s Costs

Alongside the UK’s own commitments, European Union governments have agreed a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, backed by the EU’s common budget, after failing to agree on seizing approximately €200 billion of frozen Russian central bank assets.

Because those assets have not been seized, the financial risk and repayment obligations are being shared across EU member states through public borrowing, rather than being met from confiscated assets or new wealth taxes.

The UK is not contributing directly to this EU loan and does not pay into the EU budget. However, it is politically aligned with the same approach: large-scale support funded through public expenditure while frozen assets remain largely untouched.

The result across Europe — including the UK — is that the financial burden of supporting Ukraine is being carried by ordinary taxpayers, at the same time governments insist domestic spending must remain tightly constrained.

Where Is the Democratic Debate?

The Workers of England Union asks a simple question:

Where is the democratic mandate?

There has been no referendum, no meaningful parliamentary scrutiny, and no honest discussion about where this money is coming from or what it means for public services.

Workers across England are simply expected to accept that:

NHS waiting lists grow,

Roads collapse,

Courts grind to a halt,

Public sector pay falls in real terms,

while tens of billions flow overseas with barely a challenge.

Questioning where our taxes are spent is not being pro-Putin, not being anti-Ukraine, and not being isolationist. It is about democratic accountability, priorities, and who is paying the bill.

Questions That Must Be Asked

Why is it politically impossible to fund the NHS properly, yet politically effortless to commit £21 billion to war?

Why are working people told to tighten their belts, while war spending faces no such restraint?

And why are Labour-affiliated Trade Unions not demanding the same scrutiny and accountability for war spending that they demand elsewhere?

If money can be found for this war, then it can be found for nurses, roads, courts, and regenerating communities across England.

The issue is not affordability. The issue is political choice.

Conclusion

All the Workers of England Union is asking for is democratic debate and public money to be spent with proper accountability.

Workers have a right to question priorities, demand transparency, and insist that England’s future is not sacrificed without their consent.