Friday 26 October 2018

No Time To Be Deterred

Question Time from Barrow-in-Furness last night, and notice that the “jobs” argument is now the only one advanced in support of nuclear weapons in general or Trident in particular.

It would fascinating to hear the reaction if Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell or anyone else proposed spending quite that much money on employing quite that few people. And for what? 10,000 households in Barrow are using foodbanks. It is not a prosperous town.

In no serious country is the science-fictional question “Would you press the button?” ever asked. No one would ever press the button, and every functioning adult knows it. It is true that the atom bomb has been used, a long time ago. But nuclear weapons such as exist today never have been. By anyone.

And look at the people who have had them, or who still do have them. Stalin never launched a nuclear attack. Stalin. Nor did Chairman Mao. Theresa May is many things, but she is no Chairman Mao. It is all a bluff. Just get rid of these wretched things.

We need the cancellation of Trident in favour of rebuilding the conventional Armed Forces, in favour of care for veterans, in favour of flood defences, and in favour of an “all of the above” energy policy based around civil nuclear power and around this country’s vast reserves of coal, with the commanding heights in reformed public ownership, with no need for fracking even in its own terms, and with the requirement of the approval of the House of Commons before energy or water prices could be increased.

In the case of Trident, we could pay the affected shipyard workers quite eye-watering sums in compensation, and still save amounts that there were scarcely the adjectives to describe. That might even do their towns some good, since Trident has very visibly never done so.

Another hung Parliament is coming, and our people need to hold the balance of power in it. My crowdfunding page is here, or email davidaslindsay@hotmail.com for other options. That address accepts PayPal.

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