Petition · past parliament
End state support of arms exports
Closed
209 signatures
What the petition asks
Every British tax-payer subsidises the promotion of UK arms exporters. Government departments, the MOD & UKTI are the lead sponsors of the world's largest arms fair, here in the UK. In fact, the arms sector is promoted over and above other sectors' exports by a dedicated defence exports department.
The argument for state support is jobs. But the state distorts the jobs market for engineers by promoting arms exports over other engineering, and indeed all other sectors.
Compare the extra support for the defence sector:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-trade-and-investment-defence-and-security-organisation
vs. the resources available for other engineering, finance, retail, media, etc.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-trade-investment
everybritishfamily.org
Compare the extra support for the defence sector:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-trade-and-investment-defence-and-security-organisation
vs. the resources available for other engineering, finance, retail, media, etc.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-trade-investment
everybritishfamily.org
Timeline
| 16 Sep 2015 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 16 Mar 2016 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
209
Status
Closed
Opened
16 Sep 2015
Closed
16 Mar 2016
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.