Western politicians and military leaders are using the ‘threat’ of a Russian invasion of Europe to increase military budgets. This will mean cutting public investment. It is the opposite of what we should be doing if we are serious about addressing our economic challenges.

The idea that Russia will invade Europe is scaremongering. NATO is a formidable alliance. The US, UK and USA all possess nuclear weapons. An invasion of Europe is highly unlikely.

Russia is the largest and most resource-rich country in the world. Its involvement in the Ukraine war was NOT about territory. It was provoked by the threat of NATO expansion and the civil war against Russian speakers in the east of Ukraine. A key demand from Russia to resolve the war is Ukrainian neutrality. NATO’s boundary must stop at the border of Ukraine.

NATO tried to exhaust Russia by arming Ukraine to fight a ‘proxy’ war. The problem it had in conducting this war is that it was geared up to fight high-tech short wars against weaker ‘non-peer’ oppositions. Russia is defeating Ukraine and its backers. It has conducted a masterclass in attritional warfare that has given NATO a bloody nose. The propaganda that says otherwise is nonsense.

Attempts to further provoke and escalate the conflict will come from those warmongering elements who have been associated with defeat and want another try to salvage their reputations. They know that with defeat will come recriminations of their leadership.

Such a provocation came recently when US General Christopher Donahue announced that the US Army and its NATO allies are embarking on plans to capture the Russian territory of Kaliningrad in lightening quick time. Russia has made it clear this would be met with an ‘overwhelming’ response – probably using nuclear weapons. It won’t happen. Like many of Trump’s rantings, it is bluster.

Our politicians and military leaders should cool down and stop panicking. They have lost the Ukraine war – and there are big problems that Europe and the UK need to tackle. European economies are tanking. This is partly a result of cutting off supplies of Russian gas by sanctions and destroying the Nordstream gas pipeline that supplied Germany with cheap Russian gas.

Our economy has turned away from manufacturing to making ‘easy’ profits through financial speculation. It is up to Government to direct investments in major infrastructure and productive enterprises that produce real things. This is what will regenerate our economy. Sending billions to Ukraine will not. Investment in weapons and expanding the military will have little tangible benefit. This is an uncomfortable fact for those who want a war of revenge - but it is true.

The disillusion caused by this Labour Government within its own ranks is astonishing. Jeremy Corbyn’s new political party has attracted more people than the current TOTAL membership of the Labour Party – over 600,000 compared to just over 300,000.

No matter what impact this may have on future politics it is a huge indicator of the alienation that a substantial number of traditional Labour supporters people feel.