# FILE NAME: 00001654.soc
# TITLE: Should the UK cut its military spending to devote more money to domestic priorities? [22a2ad333bdb86551993f3f2e04c0553]
# DESCRIPTION: 
# DATA TYPE: soc
# MODIFICATION TYPE: original
# RELATES TO: 
# RELATED FILES: 
# PUBLICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# MODIFICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# NUMBER ALTERNATIVES: 4
# NUMBER VOTERS: 5
# NUMBER UNIQUE ORDERS: 5
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 1: Statement 1 - The UK should cut military spending to devote more money to domestic priorities. We believe that the UK should cut military spending as it does not currently have an active conflict and has not been involved in any on-going wars for several years. It is unlikely that any conflict will arise in the near future. The money saved should be used to fund domestic priorities such as health care, the environment, the police and education. We believe that investing more money into the military is not a good use of funds as the UK does not have an active conflict and is not involved in any on-going wars. It is unlikely that any conflict would suddenly arise in the near future. Therefore, the money could be put to better use in improving the welfare of the people in the UK. Discussion It is evident that in order to answer the research questions, different approaches were needed for the two parts. The lack of communication and consensus on the first part of the study, in which the participants were all strangers and were anonymous to each other, indicates that people may not be willing to share their views on social media if it is with people whom they are unfamiliar with. With this in mind, it is likely that participants may feel more comfortable expressing their views on
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 2: Statement 2 - The UK should cut military spending to devote more money to domestic priorities. Many of our priorities such as health care, the environment, the police and education are currently neglected and deserve to be supported more. We believe that investing more money into the military is not a good use of funds as the UK does not have an active conflict and is not involved in any on-going wars. It is unlikely that any conflict would suddenly arise in the near future. Therefore, the money could be put to better use in improving the welfare of the people in the UK. This would increase the quality of life for all citizens and improve the health of the nation.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 3: Statement 3 - We believe that the UK should not cut military spending, as to do so would be to take a risk. The UK and other world powers should be prepared for any new threat, that may arise in the foreseeable future. With this cut in funding to the military, the UK will not be adequately prepared for this and, as a result, this could affect the UK greatly, through a reduction in survival and prosperity. We believe that cutting the budget allocated to the military would not be a sensible risk, given the potential negative impacts. A group of participants was tasked with coming up with a consensus opinion on an important question. Below is presented the question, the opinions of each individual participant, the first draft of a consensus statement, the critiques of the draft consensus statement by the participants, and the final consensus statement reached after much deliberation.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 4: Statement 4 - Consensus statement reached: The UK should cut military spending to devote more money to domestic priorities. Many of our priorities such as health care, the environment, the police and education are currently neglected and deserve to be supported more. We believe that investing more money into the military is not a good use of funds as the UK does not have an active conflict and is not involved in any on-going wars. It is unlikely that any conflict would suddenly arise in the near future. Therefore, the money could be put to better use in improving the welfare of the people in the UK. Also, with the rise in racist tendencies and increasing influence of far-right politicians in Eastern Europe, we also believe that there is a danger of the rise in conflict, especially if far-right governments were to be set up. Therefore, the rise in domestic threats is also something to consider when spending the military spending.
1: 1,2,3,4
1: 3,2,4,1
1: 3,4,1,2
1: 1,3,4,2
1: 1,2,4,3