Labour leader calls for a ‘war powers act’ during an appearance on BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show. Corbyn made the comments following Theresa May’s decision to take part in joint military strikes in Syria without first consulting parliament.
Julie Ward MEP is a peace activist and member of Labour CND Executive Committee. In a recent speech to the European Parliament, she argued:
Prospects of peace between the two Koreas are unexpectedly encouraging. In our support of the talks, we must focus on young people who are essential to any lasting peacebuilding processes. Young Koreans on both sides of the border have different perspectives from their elders and they should be given a voice in the peace talks.
Women also have a crucial role to play when it comes to peacebuilding so involving them in the process is a way to ensure that peace is more sustainable and more inclusive.
I am aware that the process in the Korean peninsula is still fragile. However, I believe that any step forward is good, even a baby step, as it is one-step closer to peace and to nuclear de-escalation. In the current global context, it is hugely important for us to support disarmament campaigns.
It is particularly important that the European Parliament support all efforts at the United Nations level to make the use of nuclear weapons illegal for ALL states under any circumstances.
CND strongly condemn these air strikes on Syria, which are in defiance of international law. They will only increase the likelihood of this terrible conflict spilling over into the wider Middle East and potentially beyond that.
We also condemn Theresa May’s decision to bypass parliament which demonstrates a contempt for the necessary democratic process. She has also disregarded public opinion in launching these strikes; polls indicate that only 22% of the population support this bombing campaign.
CND works for the prevention and cessation of wars in which nuclear weapons may be used and there can be no clearer example of such a situation than that which we are currently facing. Diplomatic and political solutions must be sought. Nuclear escalation poses consequences too terrible to contemplate.
CND members old and new gathered at Aldermaston on Easter Sunday commemorating the Campaign’s 60th birthday by remembering our roots in the Easter marches to the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment. Labour CND members were among the hundreds who gathered there on Easter Sunday 2018.
Labour CND is supporting these candidates for this year’s National Executive Committee election:
Veteran nuclear disarmament campaigner and Labour CND Chair Walter Wolfgang (pictured below) was awarded this year’s Ron Todd Peace Prize in a ceremony at the Marx Memorial Library in March.
Todd was General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, predecessor of Unite from 1985 until his retirement in 1992. He led Britain’s biggest union in the years when nuclear disarmament was at the heart of Labour’s annual conference debates. After his death in 2005, the Rod Todd Foundation was set up and has awarded annual prizes for outstanding achievement in areas close to the former General Secretary’s heart.
CND General Secretary Kate Hudson (pictured right) launched her new book, CND at 60: Britain’s most enduring mass movement, at Friends House on 8 March. In conversation with Victoria Brittain (pictured left), she discussed what prompted her to update CND’s history and read passages from her book before answering audience questions.
Labour CND supporters were in evidence at the protest over Mohammad bin Salman’s state visit on 7 March, including Hannah Kemp-Welch pictured here. Hundreds gathered at Downing Street to tell Prime Minister Theresa May ‘Crown Prince Not Welcome’.
Shadow International Development Secretary Kate Osamor spoke at the rally, as did Labour MPs Andy Slaughter, Chris Williamson, and others. The Green Party was there too, represented by Deputy Leader Amelia Womack, and Sinn Fein by Joe Dwyer. Earlier in the day Jeremy Corbyn made a strong statement in parliament denouncing Saudi’s abysmal human rights record.
CND invites you to the launch of CND at 60, a new book by Kate Hudson, General Secretary of CND.
This book is timed to coincide with CND’s 60th anniversary, drawing on archive material and interviews with activists from across the decades, and situating CND’s current work in the context of the Trump presidency and increasing global tensions around nuclear weapons.
Listen to Kate Hudson read from CND at 60 here:
