13 February 2007: for immediate release
The government is resorting to increasingly desperate tactics
to win over its own backbenchers, as criticism of its Trident replacement
plans grows.
The leadership is concerned that it has not won the argument within the
Labour Party, and will have to rely on whipping enough MPs to vote with
the Conservatives in order to win a parliamentary vote. On Thursday 8th
February, Kali Mountford MP, the PPS to the Defence Secretary Des Browne,
invited all Labour MPs to visit Faslane naval base and sail on a Vanguard
(Trident) submarine on Saturday 24th February. On the same day, tens of
thousands of people, including Labour Party members, will be marching
through London and Glasgow on co-ordinated 'NO TRIDENT' demonstrations.
In Parliament, as many as 74 Labour MPs have now called on the government
to delay a debate to allow for greater consultation.(1)
The party leadership threw out resolutions seeking to make the decision-making
process more accountable to the party membership at the 30th January National
Executive Committee meeting. At the 3rd February National Policy Forum,
no vote was held despite a plenary where results of two initial polls
of party members showed a majority against a replacement.(2)
This follows the decision to rule out of order all resolutions on Trident
at the party conference last September.(3)
Jeremy Corbyn MP for Islington North and Chair of Parliamentary
CND said: “Arguments against replacing Trident are so obvious on
grounds of morality, sense, security and money that it makes the increasingly
desperate attempts by the pro-arms lobby look more like scaremongering
than an intention to engage in rational debate.”
Fabian Hamilton MP for Leeds North East, who has visited
Faslane Naval Base, said: “My visit to Faslane in early January
was a great education. Until then I had no idea exactly how Britain's
Independent Nuclear Deterrent actually worked but whilst there I and my
colleagues saw first hand the Vanguard submarine and all the staggering
array of control systems. We also gained a valuable insight into the operations
of the submarines. Seeing the submarines at first hand and the base itself,
and beginning to understand just how it all worked has made me more determined
to vote against the renewal of the submarine-based delivery system which
costs us all so much money. This vast amount of cash could be far better
used not just by the Royal Navy but also by other parts of the public
service. I still cannot see how this Independent Nuclear Deterrent would
make any of us safer from any outside threats to our people. It is clear
that the government believes that Labour MPs visiting Faslane just before
any vote in the Commons on the renewal of the Vanguard class submarines
will persuade doubters to support the design and building of a new delivery
system for Trident. In my case, it has not.”
Katy Clark MP for Ayrshire North and Arran said: "I
would like to have gone to see at first hand what goes on in the base.
Instead I will be on the streets of Glasgow. Along with thousands of
others, I'll be protesting against billions of pounds of our money being
wasted on a more sophisticated nuclear weapons system to be based in Scotland"
Kate Hudson, Chair of CND said: "No amount of day
trips can obscure the fact that all evidence suggests the majority of
Labour Party members oppose Trident. The refusal of the Labour leadership
to allow a vote or genuine debate in the Party indicates they are aware
of this reality. Rather than looking at expensive weapons of mass destruction
on 24th February, MPs would do better to come to the demonstrations in
London or Glasgow, to appreciate the scale of popular opposition.”
CND, the Stop the War Coalition, and the British Muslim Initiative are
organising a national demonstration in London on Saturday 24th February,
calling for ‘No Trident’ and ‘Troops Home from Iraq.’
It is expected to be Britain’s largest anti-nuclear demonstration
in decades.
end
Notes to Editor:
1. As well as 71 Labour MPs on EDM 579, three others
have only signed EDM 798.
2. NEC members Peter Wheeler and Ellie Reeves announced
that of 201 party members consulted, 114 opposed a replacement and 87
were in favour. Having consulted CLP secretaries in London, NPF representative
Alon Or-bach announced that of 41 responses, 31 opposed a replacement
and 7 were in favour.
3. The National Policy Forum report to Labour Party Conference
2006 stated, ‘The question of the replacement for the Trident system
is one of central importance to our future defence and security requirements
and we have said that there should be a full debate on the issue.’
Under Labour Party rule 3C2.3, this NPF statement was used as the reason
to actually rule out of order up to seventeen constituency resolutions
on the replacement of Trident, preventing any debate on the topic by conference
delegates.
4. For further information and interviews please contact
Rick Wayman, CND's Press & Communications Officer, on 0207 7002350
or 07968 420859
5 . According to a July 2006 ICM poll, 59% of the British
public opposes a replacement of Trident when presented with a cost of
at least £25 billion. Click here
for a full copy of the poll.
6 . An ICM poll from June 2006 showed that 81% of the
British public believes that any decision on Trident replacement should
be made by Parliament, not the Prime Minister alone. Click here
for a full copy of the poll.
7. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is one
of Europe’s biggest single-issue peace campaigns, with over 35,000
members in the UK. CND campaigns for the abolition of all nuclear weapons
everywhere. www.cnduk.org
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