Six months ago (doesn't time fly...), we were out on the high street campaigning to persuade politicians to Cut Trident, and to include the cost of new nuclear weapons in the Defence Review. Since then we've mobilised a new 'Peace and Disarmament' network, and this morning the Liberal Democrats voted in an emergency motion to call for the replacement of Trident to be reviewed, and for its impact on UK armed forces to be analysed.
This really is an important step, and it's heartening to see the LibDems sticking to their pre-election opposition to Trident when it was starting to look like the coalition would chip away at all of their more progressive principles. It's also a decision likely to be welcomed by the majority in this country who think it’s absurd to pour billions into Cold War weapons when we face the most severe cuts in living memory.
Despite disgraceful (but typical) attempts by Liam Fox to stifle debate on Trident by excluding it from the Defence Review, a delay to Trident replacement appears increasingly likely, giving us a historic opportunity to have a proper debate about nuclear weapons and whether they have any place in modern-day security policies. Bizarrely, our nuclear policy hasn’t been properly reviewed since the height of the Cold War in the 1960s. We now badly need a review which engages the public and the military – not just the political 'boys with big toys' at the MoD - and asks what should be a basic question; "what are nuclear weapons for?"
On a more personal note, when I go for a pint or two at my local, I chat to a bloke there who is in the Army but is facing possible redundancy due to defence cuts. We have had some interesting discussions about Greenpeace (especially misconceptions about what it does and doesn't do) and I hope that we'll both be able to look at this campaign as one that kept in place a genuine defence force, not a set of multi-billion pound pieces on an over-sized wargaming board - 'Risk' anyone?
A recent poll of Liberal Democrat members conducted by Yougov for Greenpeace found that only 7% of members supported the current government policy of like for like trident replacement.
Comments