Between Orwell and Eisenhower: The Military-Industrial Complex’s Iron Grip on Britain

The Prophets Were Right: Britain’s War Machine Devours Its Own

Two ghosts haunt today’s headlines. Orwell, who warned of endless wars designed for control. Eisenhower, who saw the military-industrial complex’s poison creeping through democracy’s veins. As Sir Keir Starmer that noble knight of the establishment pledges ‘British boots on Ukrainian soil‘ while telling pensioners to tighten their belts, their prophecies aren’t just validated—they’re understated.

Follow the money. Britain, a sovereign nation that prints its own currency, discovers £4.5 billion for Ukraine’s military in 2025 while pleading poverty to WASPI women seeking justice. The package? £3 billion in “lethal aid”—how’s that for Orwellian newspeak—plus a Byzantine £2.26 billion loan scheme destined for Ukraine’s BlackRock account. BAE Systems pops champagne while food banks multiply like concrete mushrooms across Britain’s urban wastelands.

This is exactly what Eisenhower meant by “unwarranted influence”—the unholy marriage of government power and arms dealers that warps national priorities. He wasn’t against military readiness; he wanted balance. Today, that balance lies not just broken but forgotten.

Look at our universities, once proud temples of independent thought, now addicted to Ministry of Defence funding like junkies to their next fix. The “scientific-technological elite” Eisenhower feared? They’re here, crafting AI weapons and killer drones while climate change and poverty solutions gather dust.

The supreme irony? Lord Dannatt tells us Britain’s military is “so run down” it couldn’t sustain a major deployment. Yet rather than fix our defences thoughtfully, Starmer races toward expanded conflict, bypassing Parliament entirely. Democracy dies not with a bang but with a procurement contract.

Today’s emergency Paris summit reads like Orwell’s rough draft. European leaders, scattered like pigeons before a hawk, call for “increased defence spending” while Trump and Putin play chess with Europe’s future. Starmer, desperate for relevance, begs Trump for a “backstop” while promising troops he doesn’t have for a peace that doesn’t exist.

Most grotesque is how this militarisation eats our society from within. Every missile built, as Eisenhower knew, is theft from the hungry, the cold, the desperate. In Britain today, each pound spent on artillery shells is stolen from pensioners’ winter fuel allowances, from children’s school meals, from the NHS.

Three years of Ukrainian and Russian sons dying in trenches, and our political elite measures victory in defence contract values. Now Starmer, with breathtaking audacity, urges Trump—the same man rushing to deal with Putin—to guarantee European security. The hawks grow desperate as peace looms, determined to keep their war machine fed.

“The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous. Hierarchical society is only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance. This new version is the past and no different past can ever have existed. In principle the war effort is always planned to keep society on the brink of starvation. The war is waged by the ruling group against its own subjects and its object is not the victory over either Eurasia or East Asia, but to keep the very structure of society intact.” ― George Orwell

Germany’s Scholz calls troop deployment discussions “completely premature.” Italy and Spain baulk. Poland hesitates. Yet Starmer pushes on, a permanent war advocate in peacenik’s clothing. Meanwhile, Trump’s envoy boasts of “Trump time”—peace at any price, as long as it’s paid in European coin and the US get first dibs on any minerals…

Starmer is now following Tony Blair’s policy of “liberal interventionism” by declaring he’s ready to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine to enforce a peace deal. That’s another war built on lies…

And where you may ask, in this grand theatre of militaristic posturing, is the United Nations? The very organisation created to prevent precisely this kind of unilateral war-making has been sidelined into irrelevance. If peacekeepers are needed, the UN’s blue helmets—not Starmer’s hastily assembled European coalition—should be leading that effort. But the UN’s absence speaks volumes about our selective approach to international law and order.

The truth is stark and savage: while Gaza has been turned to rubble beneath bombs paid for with Western money, our leaders suddenly discover an urgent need for international peacekeepers in Ukraine. The UN’s blue helmets will indeed be available—after all, if Trump, Israel, and Starmer have their way, there won’t be a Gaza left to safeguard but ‘Trump City’ right offshore from the ‘Gaza Marine Gas fields‘. It’s a brutal calculus written in blood and profit margins.

However, we’re all grown-ups here…let’s strip away the illusions: this was never about peace or democracy. It’s about money—always was. Orwell’s victory is complete: war is peace, freedom is slavery, and your heating bills will keep climbing while defence contractors count their billions. Our current trajectory—where peace requires escalation, security demands surveillance, and prosperity means austerity—represents everything both prophets warned against. The military-industrial complex hasn’t just gained influence; it’s captured our political system wholesale, with Labour now serving as its eager butler.

As Trump and Putin prepare to meet in Riyadh, while European leaders scramble for relevance, we face a choice: endless war and social decay, or democracy and accountability? Make no mistake—this isn’t just about Ukraine anymore. It’s about whether Britain’s future belongs to its people or to the prophets of perpetual war. But first, we must recognise the iron grip of the military-industrial complex for what it is – not a guardian of democracy, but its gravedigger.

Paul Knaggs