 | On Tuesday 20th January I was in the Commons for an Opposition Day debate on Trident. As some of you will know, during the early 1980s I was chair of CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) and I continue to hold very strong views on the use of nuclear weapons. |
The motion for the debate, moved by SNP MP Angus Robertson, was "That this House believes that Trident should not be renewed." In my speech I questioned whether spending up to £100 billion on weapons of mass destruction was the best way to defend the people of this country when we cannot raise millions out of poverty or fund our precious national health service. I also questioned the Cold War thinking still exhibited by nuclear-armed states and whether nuclear weapons even act as a deterrent against current terrorism.
As one of only nine nuclear-armed states in the world, the UK cannot escape its duty to progress disarmament talks. So why would we seek to upgrade Trident for another 50 years without exploring what might be done to bring forward multilateral nuclear disarmament?
You can read my speech (and the debate in full) here.
Unfortunately I was not able to stay for the vote at the end of the debate as I had a long-standing constituency engagement, but sadly it would have made little difference to the result: only 37 MPs voted in favour of the motion and 364 against.
As one of only nine nuclear-armed states in the world, the UK cannot escape its duty to progress disarmament talks. So why would we seek to upgrade Trident for another 50 years without exploring what might be done to bring forward multilateral nuclear disarmament?
You can read my speech (and the debate in full) here.
Unfortunately I was not able to stay for the vote at the end of the debate as I had a long-standing constituency engagement, but sadly it would have made little difference to the result: only 37 MPs voted in favour of the motion and 364 against.
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