6 September 2007: for immediate release
A new CND report, Trident & Employment: The UK’s industrial and technological network for nuclear weapons explodes the myth that non-replacement of the UK’s current nuclear weapons system, Trident, will have a detrimental impact on employment. In fact, replacing Trident, at a cost to the British public of at least £76 billion over the system’s lifetime, represents a very poor rate of return in terms of generating jobs. The report finds that if you started with a blank slate and wanted to make such a multi-billion pound investment of public money to maximise employment, the last thing you would do is build nuclear weapons.
The report will be launched on 10th September at CND’s fringe meeting at the TUC Congress.
Author of the path-breaking Oceans of Work report in the 1980s, and then more recently Oceans of Work: Arms Conversion Revisited, Dr Steven Schofield again returns to the issue with this new report. He finds that:
A decision not to replace Trident could be the catalyst for a stronger, diversified economy in those few localities with a residual dependency on nuclear weapons work.
With such a multi-billion pound investment the government could satisfy 50% of its electricity generation needs in offshore wind and wave power, providing 25,000 to 30,000 jobs – more than compensating for any loss of military employment, while both significantly reducing carbon emissions and improving energy security.
Kate Hudson, Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament said, ‘Consider what could be done if the money to replace Trident was spent elsewhere, if invested in the health service or housing, education or alternative energy. Those billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money could create economic growth and substantial job opportunities without providing a means of killing and mass destruction’.
CND is grateful to UNISON’s General Political Fund for making this important publication possible.
A recent report by Scottish CND together with Scottish TUC substantiates Schofield’s findings and shows that renewing Trident will actually cost Scotland vital jobs.
end
Notes to Editors:
1. For comments please contact the author of the report, Dr Steven Schofield
2. Or contact Dawn Rothwell at CND on 0207 700 2350 or 07968 420859
3. 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.
4. 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.