The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) will on Monday evening hold what it describes as a party in London, outside the Ministry of Defence to protest against the replacement program for Britain's nuclear deterrent, Trident, which it says will cost $146 billion.
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Posted by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament on Friday, March 13, 2015
It follows an earlier demonstration outside the Scottish naval base at Faslane, which is home to Britain's four Vanguard submarines that each carry 40 nuclear warheads and can be deployed in the event of nuclear warfare.
— Bright Green (@brightgrn) April 13, 2015
Nine arrests so far at the south gate #BairnsNotBombs #ScrapTrident pic.twitter.com/wE4EiwMi4P
— Frid Grey (@FreddieGrey) April 13, 2015
CND says: "These weapons have no legitimate purpose: their use would be illegal under almost every conceivable circumstance, as huge numbers of civilian casualties would be unavoidable. That is why the International Court of Justice ruled in 1996 the threat or use of nuclear weapons would be contrary to the rules of international law.
"The current government is in favour of replacing Trident at a cost of around $146 billion. This money would be enough to fully fund Accident and Emergency services for 40 years, employ 150,000 new nurses, build 1.5 million affordable homes, build 30,000 new primary schools, or cover tuition fees for 4 million students."
Political Nuclear Hot Potato
However, the Trident replacement program is set to move centre-stage in the event of a hung parliament after Britain's general election on May 7, which many political analysts are predicting. The Vanguard-class submarines that carry the nuclear warheads and missiles are coming to the end of the life and a decision on their replacement will have to be made in 2016. Both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party have committed to maintaining a 'Continuous-at-sea Deterrent'.
Mary Millington has been arrested at Faslane for "alleged painting" #ScrapTrident #scottishCND @AcronymInst pic.twitter.com/onUWjd2njy
— Scrap Trident (@ScrapTrident) April 13, 2015
However, the Scottish parties — which are resurgent following the independence referendum which, although it was not won, gave Scotland more powers — are against nuclear weapons and want to Scottish nuclear base closed down.
In the event that the Conservatives, under David Cameron and Labour, under Ed Miliband, fail to get enough seats for a majority in the House of Commons, then a deal on Trident with the Scottish National — and other — parties will be crucial.
"Stabbed in the Back"
The issue came to a head last week when UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon alleged that Miliband would be willing to abandon Trident to win support from the SNP in the event of a hung parliament. In The Times, Fallon wrote:
"Ed Miliband stabbed his own brother in the back to become Labour leader. Now he is willing to stab the United Kingdom in the back to become prime minister and put our country's security at risk."
Scottish First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon told Herald Scotland that Trident was a 'red line' for the party, but would not rule out working with Labour on other issues.
"The SNP has made very clear that Trident is a fundamental issue, so we would never be in any deal with a Labour government [which] is going to renew Trident and we would never vote for the renewal of Trident or for anything that facilitated that renewal."
The $146 billion Trident replacement program — and Britain's continuation as a nuclear nation — will be at stake after the general election and either Cameron or Miliband will have some tough decisions to take.
