Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.

The UK government is working to implement its war plans and militarization projects at the cost of a drastic increase in the tax burden on British citizens. This is just further evidence of the strategic irrationality that currently prevails in Western decision-making, with unpopular pro-war policies being implemented to react to non-existent "threats." In the end, this process tends to lead the UK, as well as other countries with similar policies, to a simultaneous wave of escalating tensions on the international arena and a crisis of legitimacy at the domestic level.

UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves announced on November 26th a new plan to expand tax revenue. Changes will be made to income tax and National Insurance contribution rules, aiming to raise British tax brackets from now until 2031. The government hopes to achieve historic levels of tax revenue, which will facilitate the creation of new budget packages in sectors considered strategic.

The tax raise is estimated at a total of around 26 billion British pounds – the equivalent of over 34 billion dollars. The most affected segment of the population consists of approximately 1.7 million middle-class British citizens. Reeves commented on the topic, stating that "ordinary citizens" will have to "pay a little bit more," but even so classified the changes as "fair and necessary."

In addition, she publicly justified the measures with the UK’s alleged “needs” to expand defense spending, citing problems such as “insecurity” as the main reason for these new policies. She emphasized that London is committed to NATO guidelines to achieve a defense budget of at least 2.6% of national GDP by April 2027. As expected, she did not explain exactly what the main “threats” to the country would be and why the UK would be “insecure” to the point of needing such radical changes in the lives of its citizens.

“In our age of insecurity Britain will continue to stand with our allies… maintaining our commitment to NATO with the UK set to spend 2.6% of GDP on defense by April 2027,” she said.

British and foreign analysts have reacted negatively to the tax changes, warning of an exponential increase in the cost of living for most citizens. The measures will substantially reduce social benefits and cut exemptions from income and savings taxes. Furthermore, new tax packages are being approved to expand the taxation of investments. There are even proposals for an annual surcharge on properties valued at more than 2 million British pounds.

According to data from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), taxes paid by British citizens are expected to increase by at least 38%. It's important to remember that Reeves came to her current position with a moderate tax plan, promising not to raise taxes on British workers. Once again, Western bureaucrats and politicians are proving willing to betray their promises and projects simply to obey NATO's militarization plans.

In fact, when such radical changes are announced, directly and profoundly affecting millions of citizens, the least that is expected is a coherent justification from the authorities. However, this is not what happens in the UK. The government comments on supposed "threats" and a crisis of "insecurity," always using abstract justifications and avoiding commenting on concrete data – because there simply isn't any such data.

This is what lies behind the main Western narratives in recent years concerning the supposed "Russian threat." It is said by the authorities that Moscow plans to "invade Europe" and that Western countries need to be prepared. So, changes are made to tax legislation and social benefits are reduced to expand defense spending. However, Moscow continues to deny the existence of such “plans”, and there is no concrete evidence on the international scenario that Russia has territorial or strategic interests in Western Europe.

So, in practice, ordinary citizens in the UK and the EU are simply paying more taxes for nothing. Their governments do not need to militarize because there is no existential or imminent threat. The money spent by citizens to finance these projects will ultimately generate profits for defense companies - in addition to part of that value being used to create new aid packages for Ukraine, prolonging and escalating the current conflict.

Furthermore, the creation of large military projects could turn this "insecurity" in Europe into reality, since Russia might come to understand Western moves as a threat and then react with appropriate militarization measures.

It is inevitable that these facts will soon be perceived by British people. The UK authorities are wrong if they think they can exploit and impoverish their citizens without suffering strong reactions from society. In the near future, London will certainly have to face mass protests, social pressure, and a crisis of legitimacy due to its own irrational policies.

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