Lynne Jones MP Lynne Jones MP working hard for Birmingham Selly Oak

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NEWS RELEASE

I issued the following press release on 21.12.2005

MP calls for no UK nukes post-2024

Today, Lynne Jones MP has set out her arguments opposing the retention of nuclear weapons beyond 2024: http://www.lynnejones.org.uk/Trident.htm

The MP cites three main reasons for her opposition to the Government's policy:

  1. The threat we face today, and in the immediate future, is one totally immune to the deterrent of nuclear weapons, thereby making the case for renewal unconvincing.

  2. Maintaining a deterrent beyond 2020 so that the UK can be protected against potential future threats would signal that nuclear weapons are an essential part of a nation’s security. This would cause more countries to want a similar deterrent and run the risk of causing the spread of nuclear weapons.

  3. To renew our nuclear deterrent would go against the non-proliferation treaties we have signed and weaken any international condemnation of other states obtaining nuclear weapons

Lynne Jones said:

"Though the future is impossible to foretell, it can still be shaped and influenced by the decisions that are taken today. By opting for the indefinite retention of our own "nuclear deterrent", the Government is encouraging nuclear proliferation thus increasing the chances of a nuclear confrontation as well as the possibility of a terrorist group obtaining nuclear weapons.  The £multi billions cost of renewing Trident would be better spent on measures to decrease conflict in the world, such as helping international peacekeeping efforts and combating climate change, which is a bigger threat to global security even than terrorism."

As there was no formal policy process within the Labour Party leading to the Government's hasty decision to replace Britain's nuclear submarines, which it can expect to get through the Commons only with Tory support, Lynne Jones is encouraging Labour Party members and constituents to participate in the consultation organised by Compass:

http://www.compassonline.org.uk/news_comments.asp?n=344

Lynne Jones also praises her constituent, Professor John Hull of the Queen’s Foundation and the University of Birmingham, who will be the first blind person to take part in the Faslane365 campaign, which intends to blockade the Faslane nuclear submarine base for a year from October 2006 in protest of renewing Trident.  On 7 January, Professor Hull, who is 71, will take part in an academic seminar at the main gate of the base, with fellow academics from Britain and Sweden and supported by students from several universities.

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