Trade union leaders have urged the prime minister, Andy Burnham, to increase pressure on Donald Trump to bring the war involving Iran to an end, arguing that the conflict is worsening the cost of living crisis in the UK.
General secretaries from 10 unions, including Unison, the UK’s largest union, said the government should begin by revoking permission for the US to use bases on British territories to launch airstrikes connected to the conflict.
The unions said the fighting in the Gulf was affecting energy, fuel and food costs for households in Britain and called on Burnham to oppose further escalation. In a letter to the prime minister, they described the conflict as “the US and Israel’s devastating, illegal war on Iran” and said it was “deepening the cost of living crisis faced by our members and the British public”.
“Since the war started, the average British household has seen its annual energy bill rise by £221, while monthly food bills are forecast to rise by £32.80. Without an end to the war, there will be no end to this cost of living crisis,” the union leaders wrote.
The intervention came as the foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, travelled to Washington for his first meetings with Trump administration officials since taking up the role last month. Miliband is expected to discuss the crisis in the Middle East with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio.
Rubio said this week that there had been progress in discussions with Iran and Oman on getting more ships through the Strait of Hormuz, but that no final agreement had been reached. The strait is a key route for global energy shipping, and disruption in the Gulf has renewed concerns over oil and gas prices.
Trump has said he will give Iran “one last chance” after heavy bombing by both sides last week led to further uncertainty over the direction of the war and its economic consequences.
The unions said they welcomed the new government’s stated focus on the cost of living and measures intended to make life more affordable, but were “deeply concerned” that it had authorised the use of bases on British territories as part of the escalating conflict.
Among the signatories were Andrea Egan, general secretary of Unison; Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union; and Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union. Other unions represented included the Fire Brigades Union, Equity and the Communications Workers Union. Together, the 10 unions represent more than 2.3 million workers.
In their letter, the union leaders said Burnham had moved quickly to permit airstrikes from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, which they said had become “increasingly important to the US due to the impact of Iranian counterstrikes on its Middle East bases”.
“The UK has a central role to play in de-escalation: the US has relied on its bases on UK territories to conduct the war, as they are capable of launching strategic bombers and sit within range of Iran,” they wrote.
They added: “Revoking permission for the US to use these bases would have a significant impact on the US’s ability to further escalate a war that has been a catastrophe for people in the Middle East and an economic disaster for the world.”
The unions argued that the conflict had benefited major oil companies, which they said had profited from pressure on supply after the closure of shipping lanes in the Gulf.
Jonathan Portes, professor of economics and public policy at King’s College London and a former chief economist at the Cabinet Office, said the government’s domestic economic agenda could not be separated from the effects of the war.
“The new prime minister is rightly focused on improving living standards at home,” Portes said. “But the government cannot ignore that Trump’s illegal and unnecessary war – and, more broadly, his efforts to undermine the international trading system – make that much more difficult.”
Khem Rogaly, co-director of the Transition Security Project, which coordinated the letter, said the UK risked enabling escalation through the use of its territory.
“Allowing American strategic bombers to strike Iran from Gloucestershire could well make Britain complicit in war crimes. It also enables a war that makes life more expensive for all of us,” Rogaly said.
No 10 said the government’s position had been set out by Miliband during his visit to the US. The foreign secretary said Britain had not joined offensive action in the war and that the use of bases had been for defensive purposes.
“We did not join offensive action in this war. We’ve allowed our bases to be used for defence by our allies, our Gulf allies, and that’s absolutely the right thing to do,” Miliband said after meeting Rubio.
He said the government’s priority was to avoid further escalation and work towards a ceasefire.
“The most important thing we need to do is not escalate the rhetoric, not escalate the conflict, but find that lasting ceasefire,” he said.
Miliband added: “The No 1 priority for this government is to tackle the cost of living crisis that people are facing, and my job is to work with our closest ally, the US, on getting a ceasefire – a lasting ceasefire in relation to the Iran war.
“We are not there yet, and we’ve got to do everything we can to get this ceasefire in place.”
