STUC opposes Trident as 'an extravagance and an irrelevance'

The STUC has renewed its call for Trident replacement to be abandoned and will revisit setting up Trade Union CND, focussing on job diversification for workers employed on Trident.

In a debate with major UNISON contributions from the union itself and several trade union councils, delegates rejected a GMB motion calling for Trident replacement as the ‘only game in town’ to defend jobs.

UNISON NEC policy chair Jane Carolan, in a rousing speech, supporting a Clydebank TUC motion, dubbed Trident: "An extravagance and an irrelevance" (see full text of her speech below).

UNISON activist Tom Morrison had moved the motion for Clydebank TUC, seconded by Arthur West from Kilmarnock and Loudon TUC. Both made reasoned, evidenced and devastating critiques of moral and economic case against Trident.

Kate Ramsden, speaking for Aberdeen TUC’s motion slammed the arms trade that sells weapons to repressive regimes.

She said: "Remember the bombardment of Gaza in 2014? The devastation wrought by Israeli bombs and missiles whose component parts were made at the Raytheon factory in Fife.

"Arms sales fuel conflict, support repression and make the world a more dangerous place for all of us, but especially those who through accident of birth, live in war zones or under oppression.

"And in the process, very rich people are becoming even richer on the backs of the suffering they create and care little for. It’s immoral, it’s obscene and it has to stop."
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Jane Carolan’s speech to STUC against Trident Renewal

The compelling case against Trident replacement

CND has published ‘The Real Alternative: What the government’s Trident Alternatives Review isn’t telling you’ to coincide with Cabinet Office review. This is compelling analysis of the economic, humanitarian, legal, security and political case against Trident replacement. On cost grounds alone the decision is a ‘no brainer’ - replacing and running Trident will cost well in excess of £100 billion. Read the full report here:
http://www.cnduk.org/images/stories/briefings/trident/CND-Real-Alternative-FULL.pdf

Mayday message from Scrap Trident

The Scrap Trident coalition would like to say a big thank you to all the supporters and activists who attended May Day celebrations around Scotland this weekend. The turnout in Glasgow was particularly good and it all helped to keep our message uppermost in the public mind and to remind those in power that the majority of people in this country oppose nuclear weapons:
http://scraptrident.org/may-day-2013/

Scrap Trident!

A fantastic interactive animation from CND shows what £100bn could be spent on if Trident nuclear weapon submarines are scrapped: http://www.cnduk.org/
scraptrident/

Trident tangle and CND conundrum

Malcolm Burns' Morning Star criticism of Scottish CND's decision to throw their lot somewhat naively in with independence, has provoked a wee tizzie in the letters page from John Cox, CND vice-president. accusing the paper of 'giving comfort to the warmongers'. Those of us who are suspicious of independence and the SNP, but also opposed to Trident, are a wee bit insulted at this intemperate language. It is often the kind of language that surfaces when people find themselves in a mess of their own making.

Why Labour must reject Trident replacement

Michael Meacher MP responds to this week's announcement by Defence Minister Philip Hammond MP that the Con Dem Government is commiting £350m to funding design work on the next generation of Trident nuclear submarines. Meacher points out the futility of Trident replacement, which will cost the UK up to £100bn over the next 30 years. ‘What have nuclear weapons ever achieved or are likely to achieve? None of our wars was ever won by them, and none of the enemies we fought was ever deterred by them.’
http://www.michaelmeacher.info/weblog/2012/10/trident-labour-must-make-the-arguments-for-rejection/

Shoot the Fox (metaphorically speaking)

It was arch right wing Tory Liam Fox MP who announced to his US masters back in September 2010 that this country would be committing £20 billion to replace the Trident nuclear missile system at their behest – just as the Con Dem government was gearing up to implement £81 billion cuts in public expenditure by 2015 (with the loss of 490,000 public sector jobs). His current trials and tribulations couldn’t be happening to a better man.....
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23881669-britain-will-keep-trident-liam-fox-promises-us.do

Cost of Trident doubles

This week Defence Minister Liam Fox confirmed that replacement Trident submarines would cost around double the previously stated price - now up to £25 billion.

Trident announcement Wed 18 May

On the afternoon of Wednesday 18 May the UK Government will announce their plan to spend several billion pounds over the next five years on new nuclear-armed submarines. The statement will be made to MPs in the House of Commons.

CND Trade Union Conference, 6.30pm, Wed 6th October STUC‏

UNISON Scottish Secretary Matt Smith is one of the speakers at the CND trade union conference on Wed 6 October, 6.30pm, at the STUC, 333 Woodlands Road, Glasgow. The ‘Trident, Jobs and the Economy’ conference will be the Scottish launch of a recently published CND report of the same name.

CND's big idea for the Spending Challenge - stop wasting £100bn+ on Trident‏

As part of its campaign to scrap the wasteful Trident nuclear missiles replacement programme, CND has published a model response to the Con Dem Government’s Spending Challenge – click on the link to support: http://www.cnduk.org/index.php/government-spending-challenge.html

Time to build broad coalition against Trident‏

Mike Kirby UNISON Scotland convener addressed a Scottish CND rally at the weekend called to mobilise against Trident replacement.  http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/90408
Calling for opposition to Trident to be based on economic need as well as military and moral arguments, Mike drew attention to councils and other public bodies cutting services as the price being paid for bank bail outs.
http://unisonactive.blogspot.com/2010/04/case-against-trident.html

Anatomy of a dirty deal‏

The political whores of Westminster have published the agreement upon which the new UK Coalition Government was formed yesterday. http://www.conservatives.com/News/News_stories/2010/05/Coalition_Agreement_published.aspx