The last few months have turned the world upside down. This is the time for a new vision of society, and nuclear weapons have no part in it.
CND has launched a new report looking at the huge security challenges of the Covid-19 era, why nuclear weapons can never keep us safe and how our security would be best served by scrapping Trident.
The report comes at a time when Britain finds itself completely unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic: insufficient equipment, staff and infrastructure to serve – and save – its people.
Out of this catastrophe we need new thinking from the government, to meet the real challenges our society faces. A comprehensive review of the government’s security, defence, development and foreign policy is expected to be published soon. CND submitted evidence to the Cabinet Office inquiry where we highlighted how the Integrated Review can reflect and meet the actual security needs of the UK. Read CND’s submission here.
The government should take heed of issues raised in this submission and in this report, which includes contributions from defence and military experts, and reflect on the fact that our security can no longer be focused on military scenarios, but rather on increasingly complex and ever-changing factors.
As well as looking at the concept of security today, the report looks at all the reasons why nuclear weapons don’t keep us safe. It looks at how technology could soon make our nuclear weapons system redundant; the nuclear accidents that have made the world less safe; and considers what impact a nuclear war would have on the planet.
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The report highlights the government’s twisted priorities which mean billions of pounds are being wasted on nuclear weapons rather than preparing for the real threats we face, including the situation we now find ourselves in with the spread of COVID-19.
Discussion
To coincide with the launch of the report, CND was joined by guest speakers to discuss what is real security in the 21st century? Watch the event back, featuring Diana Francis (Rethinking Security); Richard Norton-Taylor (writer and former Guardian defence and security editor); and Phil Webber (Chair of Scientists for Global Responsibility).