The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament welcomed Ed Miliband’s speech to Labour Party conference as evidence that the Party was “now making a decisive move away from the aggressive pro-war policies of New Labour”.
Kate Hudson, General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said: “Ed Miliband’s speech shows that at long last the Party is making a decisive move away from the aggressive pro-war policies pursued by New Labour. Many have been waiting years to hear a Labour leader tell the public the party was ‘wrong to take Britain to war and we need to be honest about that’. His condemnation of Israel’s cruel and counterproductive blockade of Gaza and pledge to ‘strain every sinew to work to [lift it]’ suggests he is not just reflecting on the mistakes of the past but willing to take forward a policy which truly does reflect a rejection of Blair’s subservience to the US.
“We welcome what seem to be signs of a new foreign policy vision in Ed Miliband’s thinking. He twice reiterated the need for ‘our values, not just alliances’ to shape Britain’s foreign policy. His optimism and his determination to take Britain forward are positive signs that he is willing to challenge ‘conventional wisdom’. In his election campaign he stated his view that Trident should be included in the Strategic Defence Review – that it should be reconsidered in the new context in which we find ourselves. We hope that Ed will now press forward with that.
“Part of the ‘old thinking’ that Ed wishes to break from is that ‘the challenges of the world were too big and our country too small to make a difference’. The option to cancel Trident is one clear area where Britain can give a lead and make a real difference to global moves towards nuclear disarmament and Obama’s vision of global abolition.”