Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog

Sunrise over The Sunrise
© Greenpeace/Sumner

Blimey. I’m not sure how time has slipped past so fast but, after a five week frenzy of Faslane blockading, crane climbing, arrests, solitary confinement, losing the ship, getting it back again, bearing witness, gigs, press conferences, political events, rallies and general sleep deprivation, the Trident: we don’t buy it tour has just come to an end.

The Arctic Sunrise set sail for Scandinavia a couple of hours ago, cheered on from the quayside by a smattering of exhausted Greenpeace folk and watched by the police boat that inevitably appears every time the ship moves.

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog



© Greenpeace/Davison

I wake up, my first decent lie-in since Christmas, and realise it's the 15th of March - the ides of March - not a good day for Julius Caesar who was assassinated in the Senate on this date in 44BC. And not a good day for that other megalomaniac with a receding hairline, Tony Blair. His attempts to quell the biggest domestic rebellion in 10 years failed miserably and now his plans to replace Trident have been utterly de-legitimised nationally and internationally.

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog



© Greenpeace/Vickers

Occasionally I wandered over to the bridge to see how the climbers were doing up the crane. At one point, a police van arrived and several men in bullet proof vests jumped out and scaled the fence on the side of the bridge. One of them told me he was glad this was happening because "it shows that people still care about the world" - then he grinned and said "but don't quote me on that!". He didn't have any idea I was with Greenpeace - he he.

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog

It's been a long day, so excuse the lame rhyme (above), I just couldn't stop myself. It's not that I'm giddy with excitement, it's all been rather anti-climatic really. We didn't expect the vote would be defeated, so there was no surprise when Blair got his way and the vote to replace Trident went through. Tony gets to go ahead and build his new weapon of mass destruction – the Blair Bomb, his legacy. But only because of help from the Tories. That some how feels hollow too. So I look elsewhere for inspiration.

“It’s not the end of the story by any means,” said Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn immediately following the vote. “This is a very big rebellion.”

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog

The government will be voting to build a new nuclear bomb today. Our climbers spent a cold night up the crane outside Big Ben, but they are still there trying to reach MPs as the arrive with their banner "Tony loves WMD".

There is already a massive police presence outside parliament and inside the corriors of power we're lobbying MPs to say no to new nuclear weapons. Throughout the day different groups will stage their own protests; CND, Faslane 365, Block the Builders, Rethink Trident and many more. Here are the first images back from the Rethink Trident Mps breakfast with Viven Westwood, Bianca Jagger and Annie Lennox.

You can join the rally at Parliament Square from 1pm to show your opposition to Trident. And send us your photos of the day at greenpeace@moblg.net

Vivienne Westwood outside the Houses of Parliament this morning lobbying MPs to vote against Trident.	Vivienne with Jon Trickett MP who sponsored the hugely important cross-party amendment to delay the decision on Trident.
Annie Lennox at the Rethink Trident group lobby at parliment this morning.	Bianca Jagger with Joan Ruddoch at the Rethink Trident group lobby

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog

Some of our ship's crew and volunteers joined in the Critical Mass ride at Parliament Square as part of the protests.

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog

The rally in Parliament Square to show opposition to Trident will be on from 6 to 8pm - we're expecting the vote during that time.

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog

The two Greenpeace climbers who spent the night on the crane outside Big Ben came down about an hour ago. They were arrested but have now been released and just arrived back at the office. They say they're happy they got right out and they stink.

You can see more photos from the 30 hour-long occupation of the crane on Flickr

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog

Our climbers have been up a crane beside Big Ben for seven hours now - the banner’s looking big and beautiful in front of parliament, and the climbers have enough supplies to stay there until tomorrow afternoon’s vote.

Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog

A strong rebellion against the government's proposal on Trident is growing amongst MPs. On Sunday the BBC reported that their poll indicated that two thirds of Labour MPs plan to vote against the government and oppose the Trident replacement. Yesterday Deputy leader of the Commons Nigel Griffiths resigned over the issue.

The public's view is shifting too. A poll conducted for More 4 showed that only 24% of the public supports the government's plans to replace Trident and 51% think that the final decision to replace the Trident nuclear weapons system should be made through a public referendum.

When asked what the greatest threat to our security is, only 7% said Iran, North Korea or Pakistan, while 58% said that climate change will be the greatest threat to our security in 20 years time.

Download the full More 4 poll conducted by Populus.