Reports from an aide to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has reportedly indicated that a future government under him would cut defense spending has infuriated Britain's tabloid press which has led criticism of his refusal to blame the Russian government for the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal.
Chairman of the "Stop the War Coalition," Andrew Murray reportedly said, "There are many benefits that an anti-war Government could bring forward." He also suggested that funds redirected away from the military budget could be better used to tackle various social crises facing the country such as racism and social radicalization.
British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson, along with much of the UK Conservative Party used their response to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury to call for an increase in the level of government spending on the military, citing the apparent "threat" posed by Russia.
The Labour leader has been a life-long opponent of British military interventions around the globe and an ardent critic of its nuclear weapons arsenal, which despite his calls for it to be disbanded, the Labour Party has voted to continue funding were it to win government.
In late 2015, shortly after he was first catapulted to the leadership of the Labour Party, The Sunday Times newspaper published an interview with an anonymous serving general who claimed that Mr. Corbyn would face a mutiny from the armed forces if he were to implement his envisioned policies.