Scrap Trident!
Trident is the UK’s nuclear weapons system which the current government has voted to renew at a cost of approximately £205bn (in fact they had already spent millions on the system before a vote in Parliament had even gone ahead). Parliament voted to renew Trident on the 18th July 2016 and we must now do everything we can to oppose this decision. These are weapons of mass destruction that do not differentiate between civilian or military personnel; innocent young children or the elderly. They have no place in the modern world and we will continue to campaign at all levels to ensure future governments’ rectify the ill-informed decision and ensure complicity with our international treaty obligation to disarm.
The UK is one of a tiny minority of governments in the world that keeps nuclear weapons. The UK is armed with 225 nuclear warheads, each with eight times the explosive capacity of the bomb used in Hiroshima, that killed over 140,000. Instead of ignoring promises made through the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to get rid of our nuclear weapons, the UK decided against taking a significant stand and taking a leading role in disarmament by scrapping it altogether.
The UK continues to oppose work on a Nuclear Weapons Convention which would ban nuclear weapons worldwide. The lifetime cost of renewing Trident would be around £205bn billion. That’s over £205 billion pounds of our money that could be spent on education, health, housing, job creation, sustainability or any number of useful things that we actually need! While millions are being slowly crushed under the weight of austerity, we are spending £205 billion on a defence system which cannot be lawfully used.
Disarmament is a decision that was too brave for the current government to make – and now we are faced with the prospect of being tied to a nuclear millstone for another generation. Time is running out for our MPs to make the right decisions – we must take action to ensure that they realise that nuclear weapons are not in ANY of our interests. If we work together then we CAN Scrap Trident and build a secure future for all.
There are strong differences of opinion among MPs regarding Trident replacement. Please help us to pressure MPs to ensure that the UK stops boycotting multi-lateral negotiations on disarmament, and letting us have a copy of their response. You can find out who your MP is, and their voting record on Trident on the They Work For You website, and find more information on how to lobby your MP here.
Tell the government to Scrap Trident and cancel its replacement. Please write to your MP & send us a copy of the response.
We hope the following resources and ideas will be useful for your campaigning efforts. Please do what you can!
The UK is one of a tiny minority of governments in the world that keeps nuclear weapons. The UK is armed with 225 nuclear warheads, each with eight times the explosive capacity of the bomb used in Hiroshima, that killed over 140,000. Instead of ignoring promises made through the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to get rid of our nuclear weapons, the UK decided against taking a significant stand and taking a leading role in disarmament by scrapping it altogether.
The UK continues to oppose work on a Nuclear Weapons Convention which would ban nuclear weapons worldwide. The lifetime cost of renewing Trident would be around £205bn billion. That’s over £205 billion pounds of our money that could be spent on education, health, housing, job creation, sustainability or any number of useful things that we actually need! While millions are being slowly crushed under the weight of austerity, we are spending £205 billion on a defence system which cannot be lawfully used.
Disarmament is a decision that was too brave for the current government to make – and now we are faced with the prospect of being tied to a nuclear millstone for another generation. Time is running out for our MPs to make the right decisions – we must take action to ensure that they realise that nuclear weapons are not in ANY of our interests. If we work together then we CAN Scrap Trident and build a secure future for all.
There are strong differences of opinion among MPs regarding Trident replacement. Please help us to pressure MPs to ensure that the UK stops boycotting multi-lateral negotiations on disarmament, and letting us have a copy of their response. You can find out who your MP is, and their voting record on Trident on the They Work For You website, and find more information on how to lobby your MP here.
Tell the government to Scrap Trident and cancel its replacement. Please write to your MP & send us a copy of the response.
We hope the following resources and ideas will be useful for your campaigning efforts. Please do what you can!
If britain fired trident
This report from Scottish CND details how an attack from one of the Trident submarines based at Faslane, against its most likely targets, would result in 5.4 million deaths. Nick Clegg recently confirmed that Trident is still designed to "flatten Moscow". The Scottish CND paper explains the effect of detonating 20 nuclear weapons inside Russia's capital and a further 20 in the surrounding area. It was published in advance of a major international gathering in Olso, hosted by the Norwegian Government, which examined the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons.
READ HERE
PEOPLE NOT TRIDENT
CND has worked with various charities, organisations and unions on our latest report in order to highlight the benefits of investing the £100 billion the government plans to spend on new nuclear weapons in sectors such as housing or renewable energy instead. With an introduction by economist Michael Burke, the report shows both the immediate benefits to people's lives as well as the possible long-term boost to the economy.
READ HERE
DISARMING TRIDENT
A step by step guide on how the UK could disarm within 2 years. It explains that de-activating and dismantling the Trident nuclear weapons system is not an impossible task and outlines how this process can be achieved in eight specific phases over four years. The report also details how independent verification of the procedures, to provide assurance to the international community, could be carried out.
READ HERE
THE ALTERNATIVE DEFENCE REVIEW
The Alternative Defence Review challenges the dominant war narrative—cultivated by political elites, the military-industrial complex, and the mainstream media—and offers a new vision for peace, justice, and security.
It was proposed by CND in response to the RMT union’s decision to ‘… campaign with other trade unions and peace organisations to convene a labour and peace movement summit to work out the basis of a new foreign policy with the promotion of peace and social justice at its heart’. The Alternative Defence Review is intended to be a contribution towards this.
READ HEREIt was proposed by CND in response to the RMT union’s decision to ‘… campaign with other trade unions and peace organisations to convene a labour and peace movement summit to work out the basis of a new foreign policy with the promotion of peace and social justice at its heart’. The Alternative Defence Review is intended to be a contribution towards this.