MADAM – Trident: an arrogant, cruel and deluded folly The UK’s submarine-based Trident nuclear weapon system is approaching the end of its operational life.
The proposal not to renew Trident was defeated in the House of Commons and thousands marched in London to protest.
Many Stroud voters have contacted me asking my opinion.
This is it.
The possession of nuclear weapons, as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is morally indefensible; militarily useless; by its indiscriminate nature theoretically illegal under international law and serves to undermine any moral authority or credibility that the UK has in demanding international nuclear non-proliferation.
The next government will have to decide whether to continue with the current coalition government’s austerity programme or spend £100billion on Trident.
Prioritising investment in what my colleague Caroline Lucus MP has called ‘a voodoo weapon’ over basic human need and the needs of a civilised and fair society is the kind of arrogant, cruel and deluded folly normally associated with tyrants.
Trident should not therefore be replaced and the money saved should be spent on halting or mitigating the socially destructive austerity programme.
Chris Jockel
Green Party parliamentary candidate for Stroud
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