I have been a supporter of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) for more years than I care to remember (I've got happy memories of various 'Ban the Bomb' activities at Aberystwyth University in the '60s!). To me it is a matter of principle as I believe strongly that we should be working to rid the globe of all nuclear weapons, so that we can make the World a safer and more secure place.
I find it indefensible that while our beloved (but not by me!) coalition government is forcing through swingeing cuts to vital public services, it is continuing to spend billions of pounds on nuclear weapons. How can any government justify spending £3.1 billion of taxpayers’ money on the Trident nuclear missile system each year? That's £3,100,000,000; yes, £3,100,000,000. Just think what that amount could do if it was spent on social housing, job creation, education, health, policing, community groups, etc! Or, perish the thought, used to reduce the oft-mentioned debt mountain.
The Government has also authorised the expenditure of billions of pounds on its scheme to replace the Trident nuclear submarines / weapons system, even though the decision on whether to press ahead with the replacement will not even be taken until 2016. The original estimate for the new submarines was a massive £11-14 billion, but recently the government has published a progress report which shows that the actual costs are likely to be in the region of £25-26 billion. It has also been acknowledged that the total cost of the whole programme, including lifetime costs, will probably exceed £100 billion. And let's not forget that runaway increases in costs have blighted almost every major defence project in recent years. With that in mind, perhaps £100 billion is an underestimate.
What a waste of our money. David Cameron and his acolytes repeatedly say that they are prepared to take the tough decisions. I bet they don't have the bottle to take this one on.
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