Trident: thousands to march – scrap all nukes!


Tom Baldwin

Thousands are due to demand that Trident nuclear weapons be scrapped, taking to the streets on 27 February.

The government wants to renew Trident – at an estimated cost of £100 billion over its lifetime. The Tories are splurging on weapons of mass destruction while cutting vital public services to the bone. They say there ‘isn’t any money’ for them.

Trident is a criminal waste of money, enough to hire 150,000 nurses and teachers.

Far from being a necessary investment in our security, nukes are a costly white elephant. In the best case scenario, the weapons will simply sit at the bottom of the ocean for years. The alternative does not bear thinking about: they have the potential to kill millions.

Trident does not make us any more secure. It is a Cold War throwback, at a time when the greatest threat comes from terrorist groups, not opposing blocs of world powers. Despite all the bluster about Britain’s ‘independent’ nuclear deterrent, the programme can’t work without US support.

Most people oppose Trident renewal, yet all the major parties back it. A majority of Labour members support Corbyn’s position of nuclear disarmament. But he faces a fight with the right wing to make it party policy.

Unions like Unite, which organises Trident workers, favour renewal because of the jobs.

Those workers should be reemployed on science and engineering projects, such as clean energy, where their skills will benefit society.

Nuclear arms are not the hot topic they once were, but plans for renewal put them back in the spotlight. Any movement against them must link up with the anti-austerity movement and trade unions: for jobs and services, not genocidal vanity projects.