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Network for Peace

Network for Peace

5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DY

Tel: 07794 036 602 fax: 020 7278 0444 (shared fax, mark fao: NfP) Email: NfP

 

Trident Replacement
Events

What is Trident?

Britain’s nuclear weapons system. It consists of 4 nuclear-armed submarines, one of which is on patrol at all times. Each submarine carries 48 warheads, each of which has the explosive power of up to 100 kilotons, 8 times the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

Replacing Trident

Trident went into service in 1994 and has a 30-year lifespan. A decision has been made but there’s plenty of time for this to change. The campaigning goes on. Proponents of nuclear weapons argue that such a deterrent is necessary to ensure our continuing security and to protect Britain’s status as a key political actor. Many of us believe the latter is one of the most important reasons nuclear weapons continue to be in favour with the nuclear weapons states – these weapons are in fact a political tool rather than of any military importance. We believe that Trident is illegal, immoral and a waste of resources. It does nothing to increase world security and undermines international efforts to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction. We say there are better ways of building and maintaining peace!

Trident and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

To fulfil its international legal obligations, the Government should comply with its unequivocal commitment under the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty by immediately decommissioning Trident and ruling out plans for future nuclear weapon systems.

The cost

They aren’t telling us the exact figure. It is estimated that it could be as much as £25 billion. What could the government spend £25 billion on? See http://www.cnduk.org/pages/ntrep.pdf

British people oppose developing new weapons system

When presented with the estimated cost of replacing Trident, a majority of the British public opposes the development of a new nuclear weapons system. The British public understands that money would be better spent on defeating poverty at home and abroad, and providing for employment, education and health.
Click
here for results of a 2006 opinion poll.

Leading figures from politics, religion, the arts and the military demand halt to replacement

A powerful coalition of 100 scientists, lawyers, church leaders, actors, writers and MPs have demanded (20th February) a halt to the rush by Tony Blair towards a replacement for Britain's Trident nuclear weapon system.

Stephen Hawking, the astrophysicist, is among the prominent figures fronting the campaign, which will strengthen growing demands in Parliament for the vote on the replacement of the nuclear weapons system to be delayed until a full debate on the options has taken place.

Professor Hawking said: “Nuclear war remains the greatest danger to the survival of the human race. To replace Trident would make it more difficult to get arms reduction and increase the risk. It would also be a complete waste of money because there are no circumstances in which we would use it independently.”

What you can do

*      Collect signatures for CND’s No to Trident Replacement petition in your town or city centre. Leaflets are available at no cost from the CND office (donations for postage are welcome). Ring 0207 700 2393.

*    CND page on Trident http://www.cnduk.org/pages/campaign/ntdtrep.html

*    Join a local campaign against Trident. Contact CND for details.

*    Organise a public meeting on Trident. Contact the organisations below for information, suggestions on speakers, then contact NfP for publicity!

*    Invite Bruce Kent to speak at your meeting. Contact CND on 020 7700 2393.

*      Come to a Block the Builders action at the Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment, where a new generation of British nuclear weapons would be designed and built. Blockades take place on the second Monday of every month.

*      World Court Project UK invites you to sign an Affirmation of Nuclear Freedom. You can learn more about the Affirmations by visiting: http://www.abolition2000europe.org/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=4&blogId=1
Or by contacting: World Court Project UK, Secretary: George Farebrother 67 Summerheath Rd, Hailsham, Sussex, UK BN27 3DR, +44 (0)1323 844 269 geowcpuk@gn.apc.org

Events

 

4 June
WIMBLEDON.
“Nuclear Weapons – time to get rid of the lot?”. Public meeting with Bruce Kent and Kate Hudson. Mansel Road Centre, SW19. 7-9pm (wheelchair accessible). Contact 020 8543 0362.

8 August
READING – ALDERMASTON.
Inter-Faith Pilgrimage for Peace. To mourn the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to pray for UK nuclear disarmament. Meet at 9am outside Reading Civic Centre. Arrive at Aldermaston for Inter-Faith service at 4pm. Regular trains depart back to Reading from Aldermaston station. Contact: Pete: 0118 958 8281 or Angie: 078 3535 4652.  

 

 

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Further information and briefings

See the following websites for information:

Acronym: http://www.acronym.org.uk/dd/dd76/76news04.htm

BASIC: http://www.basicint.org/nuclear/beyondtrident/

CND: http://www.cnduk.org/pages/binfo/ntr06.pdf
CND ‘Alternative White Paper: Click here

Greenpeace: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk

Medact: http://www.medact.org/article_wmd.php?articleID=387

Methodist Church: http://www.methodist.org.uk

Peacerights Report on the legality of the Trident nuclear missile system: http://www.peacerights.org/reports/195

Trident Ploughshares: http://www.tridentploughshares.org/index.php3

UNA-UK: http://www.una.org.uk/ps_main.html Briefing here

Yorkshire CND: http://www.cndyorks.gn.apc.org/news/articles/no_trident_replacement.htm

 

Blackaby Paper 7, October 2007
The Hidden Human Cost of Trident

by Di McDonald, Executive Director of the Nuclear Information Service (NIS), which works to promote public awareness and debate on nuclear weapons issues, & Jamie Woolley, sometime legal adviser to the Nuclear Free Local Authorities.

The 7th in a series of occasional papers on defence and disarmament issues in memory of Frank Blackaby.

After the March 2007 UK governmental and parliamentary decision to undertake eventual replacement of the V-class (Trident missile armed) submarine fleet, as well as the continued upgrading of the warhead design and research capabilities of AWE Aldermaston, it has become essential to document not just the financial costs of this programme but also and more significantly the human and environmental costs. This Blackaby Paper addresses these key and previously underemphasised issues.

Blackaby Paper 7 also contains a detailed section placing all the arguments within a firm legal context.

Copies of the full paper can be obtained from the Abolition 2000 UK office (address below). Individual copies are £2:00 plus £0:50 postage (total £2:50). Prices for multiple copies are available upon request.

Copies can also be downloaded from the website.

Abolition 2000 UK, 162 Holloway Road London N7 8DQ Email: mail@abolition2000uk.org Website: www.abolition2000uk.org

Don't replace Trident!

Do you want to know more about the UK's nuclear weapons and help to make sure that they are not replaced?  This pack, available free or for a donation, includes a briefing about nuclear weapons in the UK, an action ideas sheet, a list of key arguments, as well as postcards and petitions to use in the community.  Thanks to research by the Oxford Research Group, the pack includes a letter writer's list of 'decision makers' - key officials and parliamentarians with a bearing on the government's decision.  There are also instructions for making paper cranes, which we are suggesting people enclose with letters to decision makers.  Folding paper cranes is also an ideal activity for children over 9 and young people's groups.

For your pack, write to:

Peace & Disarmament Programme, Quaker Peace & Social Witness, Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ, Email disarm@quaker.org.uk or call 020 7663 1067.

Quaker Peace & Social Witness Peace and Disarmament newsletter: http://www.quaker.org.uk/ or email
QPSW Briefing on the Replacement of Trident: www.quaker.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=91671

Trident Debate Site

A broad coalition of individuals and organisations has launched a campaign to secure a full public and parliamentary debate on the replacement of Britain's nuclear weapons system, Trident. The website www.bigtridentdebate.org.uk contains a statement calling for a full debate which individuals and organisations are encouraged to sign. Click here to read the full statement. Please visit the site and join the debate.

Discuss Trident

Come Clean has launched a forum on its website to help share information, generate discussion and create informed debate about WMD. The forum can be accessed online at: http://forum.comeclean.org.uk/

Of current relevance is the section on 'Beyond Trident', a collaborative project (organised by Come Clean, the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy, Oxford Research Group and BASIC) to raise awareness and foster public and parliamentary debate on whether or not Britain should retain nuclear weapons and replace the Trident nuclear weapons system. You can discuss the Future of Britains Nuclear Weapons and find out why a debate on nuclear policy is vital online at: http://forum.comeclean.org.uk/viewforum.php?f=2 .

Further information about Beyond Trident is available from the Come Clean Website at: http://comeclean.org.uk/bt_information.php.

Nuclear Peace

The objective of this site is to scrutinise the arguments advanced both for and against the replacement of the UK’s nuclear defence system, Trident.

http://nuclearpeace.wordpress.com/

 

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