This
CND has slammed David Cameron’s
‘sinister sidestepping’ of Parliament over a secret, decade-long, nuclear agreement with the United
States.
The amendment and extension of the Mutual Defence Agreement, which was first signed in 1958, is fundamental to the replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system: allowing for the transfer of information relating to nuclear technology and US-UK collaboration over their nuclear weapons programmes.
Yet the British Government has not only denied Parliament the opportunity to discuss it, it will not even disclose the content of the agreement.
Kate Hudson, CND General Secretary, said:
‘Parliament has not been informed. Whitehall has remained silent. Yet David Cameron’s Government has just waved through a 10-year extension to a nuclear cooperation treaty with the United States.
‘The Mutual Defence Agreement flies in the face of the UK’s commitments as a signatory the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
‘The Government says the MDA is perfectly in keeping with its multilateral disarmament obligations: but then again they could say anything they want about the agreement, because they’re keeping the contents secret.
‘In no other area of government would such a sinister sidestepping of democratic process be tolerated.
‘The fact that we had to be told of our own Government’s actions through President Barack Obama’s words to Congress marks a dismal day for British democracy. It’s also a worrying sign of how the Government fights dirty when it comes to challenges to its talismanic nuclear weapons programme.’
Jeremy Corbyn MP, CND Vice-Chair, said:
‘The news that David Cameron has renewed the Mutual Defence Agreement with the United States shows he holds Parliament in contempt. The Treaty locks us into US foreign policy and military adventures and the nuclear weapon technology sharing it delivers exposes the lie that Trident is an independent weapon.
‘I, on behalf of Parliamentary CND, had requested a debate on the renewal of this treaty before it went through, yet the Prime Minister has carried it out in secret. No proposal has been put before the British Parliament. This is a travesty of democracy.’
The amendment and extension of the Mutual Defence Agreement, which was first signed in 1958, is fundamental to the replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system: allowing for the transfer of information relating to nuclear technology and US-UK collaboration over their nuclear weapons programmes.
Yet the British Government has not only denied Parliament the opportunity to discuss it, it will not even disclose the content of the agreement.
Kate Hudson, CND General Secretary, said:
‘Parliament has not been informed. Whitehall has remained silent. Yet David Cameron’s Government has just waved through a 10-year extension to a nuclear cooperation treaty with the United States.
‘The Mutual Defence Agreement flies in the face of the UK’s commitments as a signatory the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
‘The Government says the MDA is perfectly in keeping with its multilateral disarmament obligations: but then again they could say anything they want about the agreement, because they’re keeping the contents secret.
‘In no other area of government would such a sinister sidestepping of democratic process be tolerated.
‘The fact that we had to be told of our own Government’s actions through President Barack Obama’s words to Congress marks a dismal day for British democracy. It’s also a worrying sign of how the Government fights dirty when it comes to challenges to its talismanic nuclear weapons programme.’
Jeremy Corbyn MP, CND Vice-Chair, said:
‘The news that David Cameron has renewed the Mutual Defence Agreement with the United States shows he holds Parliament in contempt. The Treaty locks us into US foreign policy and military adventures and the nuclear weapon technology sharing it delivers exposes the lie that Trident is an independent weapon.
‘I, on behalf of Parliamentary CND, had requested a debate on the renewal of this treaty before it went through, yet the Prime Minister has carried it out in secret. No proposal has been put before the British Parliament. This is a travesty of democracy.’
Any prime minister who holds parliament in contempt also holds the people in contempt. Mr Blair did it and now we have his protégé Mr Cameron following suit. I was not surprised that Blair won the election in 1997 but was amazed that he was re-elected. To then win a third term just left me speechless.
ReplyDeleteI was not surprised that Cameron won in 2010 but I hope that we are not going down the same road again. Surely the electorate has learned its lesson?
I couldn't agree more. But the electorate has to be informed. Who will cover this huge story?
DeleteCND the last people still defending British parliamentary sovereignty, with even Matthew Parris and Peter Hitchens now agreeing with them about Trident.
ReplyDeleteBut main point is first one, CND the last people still defending British parliamentary sovereignty. Somehow we always knew that it would end like this.
It has not ended yet.
DeleteOf course, they were right all along. There was never a Soviet military threat, everyone who reads books now agrees on that, and anyone capable of basic reasoning could always see it.
Until that decidedly non-reading and non-reasoning woman came along, even many Tories had doubts about nuclear weapons, and all of the clever ones, on whichever wing of the party, thought that Cold Warriors were a joke.
They were suddenly less of a joke once the Prime Minister was one. But the USSR collapsed in exactly the way and at exactly the time that more serious people had always predicted, so we were spared what she had longed to inflict on us.
Ukip and the Tory Right supporting TTIP, Ukip and the Tory Right silent on this, probably all for it. Sovereignty my a*se.
DeleteAt the end of the day we can only rely on people like Jeremy Corbyn who campaigned for a No vote in 75, voted against Thatcher's Single European Act, voted against Maastricht, and has always seen the join between European federalism and US military domination.
He is a great advocate for the Chagos Islanders. Of course.
DeleteAnd for ancient civil liberties against successive Governments. Of course.
He is also very active in the cause the Dalits, deploring the importation of class prejudice, which is the kind of criticism of immigration that would cause quite a reaction if a Conservative voiced it.
But whether he shares his brother's climate change doubts, I do not know.
Even some Leftists might start to criticise the EU with TTIP (although Labour, the Lib Dems/Greens etc are still all for continued membership so it doesn't matter )
ReplyDeleteIt's hilarious to watch. If some US trade deal is really what it takes to get the Left to fall out of love with the EU, then it's done some good.
I suspect some equivalent of the "social chapter" will be found to buy them off and then they'll be good little boys again.
Our party, of course, has the only serious solution to any of this.
Leave the EU and any trade deals we sign will have to be negotiated by our Parliament in our interests, not those of Angela Merkel.
You literally know absolutely nothing at all. It is quite picturesque.
Delete