Jeremy Corbyn
Time to act
JEREMY CORBYN argues that now is the time to stand up and be counted. All Morning Star readers must do their bit.
THIS evening, MPs will vote on one of the most crucial issues facing the planet. Do we proceed into the rest of this century with a new generation of nuclear weapons or do we turn our heads in the direction of peace and disarmament?
There will be two votes this evening - one to delay any decision to allow for further public debate and, depending upon the outcome of that, a second on the principle of having Trident nuclear missiles at all and endorsing the government's plans set out in its white paper.
The past few days have seen a gathering snowball of opposition to the replacement of the Trident nuclear missile system, with resignations of ministers, including the Deputy Leader of the House Nigel Griffiths.
Increasingly, public opinion polls indicate that anyone faced with limitations on health expenditure while seeing the social needs of the poorest people in this country must surely question the wisdom of committing £25 billion to new weapons, plus £1.5 bn every year in running costs.
'Demand to see your MP and demand that they act for peace, rather than leaving our children facing oblivion.'
The morality of development nuclear weapons in an uncertain world is a crucial argument. Opinion polls demonstrate that a large proportion of the public, who felt that they were deceived over Iraq, feel equally skeptical when told that nuclear weapons provide them with some kind of security and defence.
On Monday evening, in a sign of the panic at the top of new Labour, the Parliamentary Labour Party office produced a lengthy and rather shrill document from Margaret Beckett and Des Browne. This is the very same Margaret Beckett who opposed nuclear weapons at the height of the cold war in the early 1980s.
Rather than seeking to debate with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, she ritually condemns it as a pacifist organisation.
The briefing sent to Labour MPs begins its curious oddity around the subject by first quoting the government's motion, which supports the white paper and, at the same time, claims to be "taking further steps towards meeting the UK disarmament responsibilities under Article 6 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty."
The analysis starts by pointing out that Russia has 50 times the number of British warheads and that the number of countries with nuclear weapons is growing. It refers to "worrying recent developments" in Iran and North Korea. Curiously, the document is silent on the issue of Israel's vast nuclear arsenal or the export of nuclear technology to India and Pakistan, despite their development of nuclear weapons.
The document then begins to sound like something out of the Daily Telegraph as it catalogues some of the dramatic events of the last 30 years, before asking what the next 10, 20 or 50 years will hold.
In trying to debunk what they call "myths" about nuclear deterrent, the two secretaries of state insist that, if we don't take a decision today, then we will be depriving future generations of the option of a continuous credible deterrent.
After challenging the cost figures produced by CND, Greenpeace and many other reputable organisations, they then rather astonishingly compare the cost of Trident to the amount of money spent on National Lottery tickets.
This is an bizarre argument, because people buy lottery tickets mainly to win a prize, but they are fully aware that half of the money goes to good causes. It would be interesting to see how many people would buy lottery tickets if their cash was being used to fund nuclear weapons.
The House of Commons select committee on defence has investigated the whole subject and, while the majority of committee members support the retention and development of nuclear weapons, they also believe that there has been insufficient public debate on the subject and, therefore, that it would be premature to take a decision today.
The argument that says that we have to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons and the submarines to carry them in order to defend jobs in the defence industry and British shipyards is constantly used as a justification for the creation of weapons of mass destruction.
The reality is that over-reliance on defence contracts has made Britain's industrial base weaker, not stronger. The huge skills available in the defence industry could and should be harnessed to develop civilian ships, aircraft and high-technology equipment for peaceful purposes. The idea that we have to contribute to an unstable world in order to defend industry is simply not an acceptable position.
The issue of the legality of nuclear weapons and British compliance with international treaty obligations is a crucial part of the debate.
Britain has signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which prevents any signatory nation that does not possess nuclear weapons from acquiring them and commits the existing nuclear armed countries to a process of disarmament. The treaty is subject to a five-yearly review.
Progress was made at the 2000 NPT review conference, during the late Robin Cook's tenure as foreign secretary. However, there was no forward movement in 2005 and it will be very interesting to see what statement the British delegation makes to the preparatory committee meeting for the next NPT review, which will be held in Vienna this May.
Nuclear weapons have been used once in war in 1945. They killed hundreds of thousands of people in the initial explosion and in subsequent painful deaths from cancers among the civilian population. Nuclear weapons inevitably target civilian populations. They cannot be aimed at a specific, localised target in the way that "conventional" weapons are. They are, quite literally, a weapon of mass destruction.
Now is the time to stand up and be counted. All Morning Star readers must do their bit by contacting their Member of Parliament's office on (020) 7219-3000 and asking exactly how they intend to vote today.
Those who can, please come to Parliament, demand to see your MP and demand that they act for peace in an unstable world, rather than leaving the next generation facing oblivion.
• Jeremy Corbyn is Labour MP for Islington North. He can be contacted at corbynj@parliament.uk
