Trident replacement branded ‘immoral’ by MSPs
-29/09/06
Spending billions of pounds o
Trident replacement branded ‘immoral’ by MSPs
-29/09/06
Spending billions of pounds on renewing the Trident nuclear weapon system would be immoral, the Scottish National Party has said.
The claim came in an SNP-led debate in the Scottish Parliament on the renewal of Trident – an issue reserved to Westminster.
It follows a march on Holyrood last week by peace campaigners, including church leaders.
The SNP’s Roseanna Cunningham said that when maintenance costs were taken into account, the real cost of replacing Trident was £76bn rather than the £25bn which has been talked about.
The amount is equivalent to 17 times what the UK Government spends on the entire rest of the world each year on overseas aid.
She called for a national debate but resented Labour’s suggestion that it should be confined to Westminster.
Ms Cunningham said there was no moral justification for nuclear weapons, especially when Britain was trying to persuade other nations not to acquire them.
“If we are not using them, why do we continue to buy them? And if we continue to buy them and stockpile, why do we believe we can continue to tell others that they should not do the same?” she said.
“When we brandish weapons whose only purpose is mass and indiscriminate slaughter, we give up all right to preach to others about the morality of the choices they might make.”
Gordon Brown, widely expected to be the next Prime Minister, has made his support for a replacement for Trident clear.
But Mike Rumbles from the Liberal Democrats criticised the Chancellor for pre-empting the debate on Trident.
The Green Party has expressed concern over any impact on workers at Faslane or Coulport.
Chris Ballance, the party’s spokesman on nuclear issues, said: “Government must engage with workers and trade unions now to plan for transferring the skills and experience of the workforce into other industries.
“We need to stop throwing tens of billions of pounds into a weapons system aimed at a threat which no longer exists.”
Socialist MSP Rosie Kane said: “This parliament needs to speak out. To say it is a reserved matter, a big boy did it and ran away, is no excuse.
“If they had the will, they could speak up.”
Trident replacement branded ‘immoral’ by MSPs
-29/09/06
Spending billions of pounds on renewing the Trident nuclear weapon system would be immoral, the Scottish National Party has said.
The claim came in an SNP-led debate in the Scottish Parliament on the renewal of Trident – an issue reserved to Westminster.
It follows a march on Holyrood last week by peace campaigners, including church leaders.
The SNP’s Roseanna Cunningham said that when maintenance costs were taken into account, the real cost of replacing Trident was £76bn rather than the £25bn which has been talked about.
The amount is equivalent to 17 times what the UK Government spends on the entire rest of the world each year on overseas aid.
She called for a national debate but resented Labour’s suggestion that it should be confined to Westminster.
Ms Cunningham said there was no moral justification for nuclear weapons, especially when Britain was trying to persuade other nations not to acquire them.
“If we are not using them, why do we continue to buy them? And if we continue to buy them and stockpile, why do we believe we can continue to tell others that they should not do the same?” she said.
“When we brandish weapons whose only purpose is mass and indiscriminate slaughter, we give up all right to preach to others about the morality of the choices they might make.”
Gordon Brown, widely expected to be the next Prime Minister, has made his support for a replacement for Trident clear.
But Mike Rumbles from the Liberal Democrats criticised the Chancellor for pre-empting the debate on Trident.
The Green Party has expressed concern over any impact on workers at Faslane or Coulport.
Chris Ballance, the party’s spokesman on nuclear issues, said: “Government must engage with workers and trade unions now to plan for transferring the skills and experience of the workforce into other industries.
“We need to stop throwing tens of billions of pounds into a weapons system aimed at a threat which no longer exists.”
Socialist MSP Rosie Kane said: “This parliament needs to speak out. To say it is a reserved matter, a big boy did it and ran away, is no excuse.
“If they had the will, they could speak up.”