The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has welcomed Liberal Democrat calls to reduce the number of the UK’s nuclear-armed submarines, but has slammed the government’s Trident Alternatives Review as ‘fundamentally flawed’ after its failure to consider non-replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system.
As the government today releases its review of alternatives to like-for-like replacement of Trident, CND called on all parties to acknowledge the strategic, economic, legal and diplomatic benefits of scrapping Trident and cancelling its replacement. The arguments for scrapping Trident are outlined in CND’s report The Real Alternative: What the government’s Trident Alternatives Review isn’t telling you which was launched with cross-party support in Westminster yesterday.
CND’s General Secretary, Kate Hudson, said:
‘The government needs to get real. At a time when it is slashing public services, forcing families to rely on foodbanks, and dismantling the safety net of welfare in this country, it is shameful that it is even considering squandering more than £100bn on an antiquated and obsolete weapons system. The Tories prefer Trident and foodbanks to genuine economic and strategic security here and abroad. Their anachronistic policies have no place in twenty first century Britain.’
‘It is to be welcomed that the Liberal Democrats are arguing for a reduction in the number of nuclear-armed submarines and an end to the Cold War system of Continuous At-Sea Deterrence (CASD). But a review into the alternatives to like-for-like replacement of Trident must surely consider all of the options: this review was fundamentally flawed in failing to consider a future without nuclear weapons for the UK.’
‘As we approach the parliamentary decision on Trident replacement in 2016, all parties must now face the reality that Britain does not need and perhaps more importantly cannot afford this monstrous extravagance.’