Brown goes nuclear

9.23.10am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 22nd Jun 2006

Nuclear mushroom

So let me get this right our Government says Iran, North Korea and indeed every other country that doesn't already have nuclear weapons shouldn't be allowed to develop them and yet our Chancellor and favourite to be the next Prime Minister wants to update the UK's. Okay that seems fair doesn't it!

Well no Gordon it's not fair and its not right. I don't think I need comment further on the sheer hypocrisy of the UK being allowed new nuclear weapons and others not. Looking at the cost and need I would certainly say we should not go ahead and upgrade Trident either now or in the future (Trident is expected to reach the end of their operational life by 2024 - so I am not even sure why we are rushing now).

Gordon wants to spend something between £13bn and £25bn to have an independent nuclear deterrent. Maybe some of that money could be spent making the world safer, tacking the causes of terrorism and warfare - mainly injustice be it political or economic, real or perceived.

Do we actually need an independent nuclear deterrent, well no not unless we desire to all die. Having an independent nuclear deterrent does not stop the UK being a target, it just means that we can respond to being attacked and kill lots of other people too! The new era of terrorism and even warfare is not going to fought country against country but against groups and individuals, did having nuclear weapons prevent the attacks in the USA or the UK, of course not.

Now some may say I am being naive, well go to Hiroshima as I did recently and come back and tell me that have and using nuclear weapons (and what is the point of having them if they are not for use?) is a good thing. Now don't get me wrong I am not a complete pacifist but new Nuclear weapons just don't seem to be the right way forward to me, a better way would be to keep various other defensive systems for the UK and the work with our EU and NATO partners in developing newer and other defensive systems - I just rule out new nuclear weapons from that.