The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has welcomed Labour leadership front-runner Jeremy Corbyns plan for a Defence Diversification Agency to redeploy the high-skilled workforce in the nuclear weapons sector, following a decision not to replace Trident.
Jeremy used a speech at the annual CND Hiroshima commemoration in London to launch the policy which sets out how transitioning jobs away from nuclear weapons into “more socially productive industries” would “protect jobs and skills” and “help grow the British economy”.
Of the four candidates standing for the Labour leadership, Jeremy is the only one committed to voting against Trident replacement when the issue comes before Parliament, expected in 2016. In his policy document, published yesterday, Jeremy reaffirms the “moral duty, and strategic defence and international commitments” Britain has to make the world a safer place.
Commenting on the policy document, Kate Hudson, CND General Secretary said:
“As the only anti-Trident leadership contender, Jeremy Corbyn is not only giving a voice to the many Labour members who oppose nuclear weapons but is also setting out practical plans to transition the high-skilled workforce away from nuclear weapons production. A Britain without nuclear weapons will contribute to a more peaceful world – and one that can build a sustainable, high-skilled economy with secure, socially productive jobs.”