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Report on fringe meeting at Scottish Labour conference

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Arthur West introduces Neil Findlay MSP

Labour CND held a successful fringe meeting at the Scottish Labour Party conference in Perth. The meeting took place in the Perth Art Gallery just hours after delegates from both Trade Unions and CLPs voted to put Trident on the conference agenda. Arthur West, Chair of Scottish CND, chaired the meeting.

The first speaker was Neil Findlay MSP, who was involved in the leadership election for Scottish Labour last year. Neil used his contribution to call for the widest possible coalition against Trident to be built. He noted that while the movement within the party appeared to be away from Trident, it is vital that concerns around jobs are addressed.

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Malcolm Chisholm MSP

The next speaker was Malcolm Chisholm MSP, who has been a long-standing opponent of Trident. Malcolm said that it is his firm view that there has never been a better chance to build a wide-ranging coalition against Trident. He said that it isn’t a left-wing issue, citing former Conservative Defence Secretary Michael Portillo and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Crispin Blunt. Malcolm finished by echoing Neil Findlay’s call for jobs issue to be addressed, but stated clearly “Trident is not a good job creation plan”.

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Elaine Smith MSP

Elaine Smith MSP started her remarks by paying tribute to the late Alan MacKinnon, who put so much work into Jeremy Corbyn’s plan for defence diversification. Elaine said that it’s her view that many people in the Labour Party are opposed to nuclear weapons but differ on the way we reach the goal. It is the duty of those who believe in a nuclear weapon free UK to make that case within the party, she said. Elaine ended her contribution by calling for those who support nuclear weapons to say who it is deterring, where they should be aimed and under what circumstances they should be fired. Not passing the motion before conference would send Scottish Labour candidates “naked into the 2016 election”, she said.

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Cara Hilton MSP

Cara Hilton MSP recalled her first speech at Scottish Labour conference, which was also against Trident. She said that Scottish Labour is now attracting people who haven’t been involved in politics for many years. She said that while millions of people are relying on foodbanks it would be unthinkable that we are writing a blank cheque for nuclear weapons which we could never use, citing new estimates that Trident replacement might actually cost as much as £167 billion. Cara ended her contribution by calling on Britain to set an example in the world by rejecting immoral nuclear weapons.

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Cathy Jamieson

Cathy Jamieson, MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun from 2010-2015 started her remarks by saying that it wasn’t always easy to be a member of CND and on the Labour front bench. Cathy served in many front bench positions, including in the shadow Treasury team. She said that she is as committed to non-replacement of Trident as ever. Cathy called for a reinvigorated and re-energised Scottish Labour CND to emerge from the weekend. This suggestion gained a large amount of support from the audience.

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Lesley Brennan

The next speaker was Lesley Brennan, who stood in the 2015 General Election in Dundee East. Lesley started by saying how satisfying it was that Scottish Labour would debate Trident, as she previously spoke at the CND fringe meeting at the 2014 Labour conference in Manchester. She said that she was looking forward to Scottish Labour taking the lead in voting to move towards a future without nuclear weapons. Lesley finished by saying that, while we have to acknowledge the fact that Trident does employ people with high skills and genuine concerns about the future, for the money being spent we should be creating many more jobs.

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April Cumming

The final speaker of the evening was April Cumming, a Labour Party researcher and activist who recently addressed one of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership rallies in Scotland. April started her comments by paying tribute to Malcolm Chisholm, who she decsribed as a “politician of highest principle”. April called on the entire Labour movement to unite to “raise our voices to protect the high-skilled jobs involved in Trident and lead the transition to the hi-tech jobs of the future. In decribing nuclear weapons as ‘window dressing’ April said that Labour must “share the desire to stand as a moral compass with leaders of the past including Keir Hardie”.



 

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Report on CND meeting at Labour conference

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Delegates and media strain to hear the CND fringe

The CND, Labour CND and Labour Action for Peace fringe meeting is a firm fixture at the Labour Party Conference. This year, following delegates deciding not to put Trident on the conference agenda, the meeting was given an extra sense of urgency.

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Kate Hudson reads a message of solidarity from Jeremy

The meeting, which took place at the Mercure Hotel in Brighton was full long before the first speaker addressed the crowd. Delegates and party members were joined by members of the press to hear Kate Osamor MP, Julie Ward MEP, Chris Williamson (MP for Derby North 2010-2015) and Jo Rust and Simeon Elliott (both National Policy Forum). The meeting was Chaired by Kate Hudson, General Secretary of CND. There were also a host of jounralists in attendance, including several political editors and film crews from the UK and Germany. Kate Hudson started the meeting by reading out a statement from Jeremy Corbyn, who was due to speak at the meeting but was unable to attend due to his commitments as leader. The statement reaffirmed Jeremy’s position on Trident and he pledged to do his “persuasive best” to change Labour policy, for which he has a massive mandate.

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Kate Osamor addresses the meeting

Kate Osamor, recently elected in Edmonton, told the meeting that opposition to Trident had been a key part of Jeremy Corbyn’s platform in the Labour leadership election, and she was commited to doing everything she could to oppose spending £100 billion on a new generation of nuclear weapons.

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Julie Ward MEP talking about her work

Julie Ward MEP, representing the North West of England, spoke about the work she is involved in at the European level, but also locally. Her constituency includes both Barrow, where work on the replacement submarines will take place, and Manchester, one of the UKs many nuclear-free local authorities.

Chris Williamson spoke about the need for Labour to have a coherent, consistent policy on Trident, and his conviction that changing position would be electorally beneficial. Chris also spoke about the need for defence diversification, as set out by Jeremy Corbyn in his election campaign.

Jo Rust and Simeon Elliott, both recently elected to the National Policy Forum, both spoke about the need to engage members in the policy making.

After the opening remarks from the panel there were a range of questions from the floor including on the morality of nuclear weapons, the so-called deterrent effect and ideas for what else the money would be better spent on.

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The Scottish view on Trident – Martyn Cook

Lenin’s quote that, “there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen”, is certainly getting a workout in articles about Corbyn’s victory, but it is now also applicable to the current debates on Trident.

Seemingly out of the blue, both the UK Conference and Scottish Conference will be able to have the topic of our “independent” nuclear deterrent up for discussion, when it’s been deemed strictly out of bounds for decades. The leaderships of both the Scottish and UK Labour parties should be congratulated on opening up this for debate.

It is welcome and represents what will hopefully be a longer-term shift in opening up policy within the party at all levels, allowing us to build an inclusive and democratic mass party.
In the shorter term though, changing the Party’s position on Trident – to one that would oppose renewal – would be a massive step forward. As well as the moral arguments against owning weapons of mass destruction, the financial argument of saving billions that could be re-invested in job creation and defence diversification would fit in with our repositioning as the only major party that is genuinely anti-austerity.

In Scotland this would be particularly helpful for Labour to rebuild. The SNP/Yes campaign placed opposition to Trident renewal as one of the central pillars to their project, and was duly rewarded by the electorate. Across the UK, Labour is about 100 seats behind the Tories, and if there is any hope of winning in 2020, we will need to claw back at least some of the 56 seats in Scotland that turned yellow in May.

Labour didn’t lose for being too left-wing, but for not being clear enough on major issues. By taking a clear stance in favour of unilateral disarmament Labour will shift the entire framework of the debate, and the votes at UK and Scottish Conference over the next few weeks could be the next step towards winning in 2020.

Martyn Cook is a member of Labour CND and was recently elected to the National Policy Forum representing Scotland.

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Scottish Labour to debate Trident

Labour CND has welcp02n52f9omed the news today that the new leader of Scottish Labour, Kezia Dugdale, has confirmed that Trident will be on the agenda when conference takes place in Perth at the end of October.

The announcement follows a call from new Deputy Leader Alex Rowley for the party to debate Trident replacement. Defence remains a reserved issue and Labour’s only Scottish MP, Ian Murray has made his opposition to Trident replacement clear.

It’s unclear at this stage what form the debate will take, but the promise of a debate is a positive move. A final vote is set to take place in the House of Commons next year, with leadership front-runner Jeremy Corbyn ensuring that the issue has been on the agenda since the General Election.

Labour CND has put forward a motion to the UK Labour conference on Trident, following recent comments from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. We are waiting to hear if the motion will be debated.

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Labour CND Contemporary Resolution to Conference 2015

The following Contemporary LPC1_20140926121204Resolution has been submitted by the Executive of Labour CND for consideration at Labour Party Conference in Brighton. It calls on Labour to support the scrapping of Trident, following comments from the Japanese Prime Minister at the Hiroshima commemorations.

“Labour should scrap Trident and any plans for Trident Replacement”

On August 6th at the commemoration ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, said that he would submit new resolutions to the United Nations General Assembly in Autumn this year and to the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to be held at Hiroshima next year, for real determination for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

Conference notes that the estimated lifetime cost of the Trident nuclear weapons system is £100 billion; believes that this is wholly unjustified at a time of devastating cuts in public spending; believes that nuclear weapons do nothing for the security of Britain or the world; further believes that Trident replacement would breach Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Conference resolves to support the scrapping of Trident and any plans for its replacement. Conference urges all Labour MPs to vote against Trident replacement and calls on the Labour Party to prioritise practical plans to transition the highly-skilled work-force away from nuclear weapons production into more socially productive industries to protect jobs and skills and to help grow the British economy. 

Conference calls on all Labour Party members, Labour Party units and affiliates to campaign against Trident and against plans for its replacement. Conference calls for support at the UN and G7 for the new resolutions from the Prime Minister of Japan for international agreement for the total elimination of nuclear weapons world-wide.

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Daily Telegraph letter – Leadership election

Labour CND Vice-Chair Walter Wolfgang had the following letter on the Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership bid published in the Daily Telegraph on Monday 17 August 2015.

SIR – Polls show that most voters in the United Kingdom reject Trident, not just those in Scotland. Jeremy Corbyn is the only leadership candidate to represent this majority view.

As Labour leader, Mr Corbyn’s firm anti-Trident stance would win support in Scotland – and in the rest of the country too.

He can promise to scrap Trident and spend the £100 billion on reversing some of the cuts. He’d be backed by the TUC, Unison and many other unions who oppose Trident.

Mr Corbyn represents the public’s view on Trident, just as he stood with the public on Iraq. He has the policies and qualities to win a general election.

Walter Wolfgang
Vice-Chair, Labour CND
Richmond upon Thames, Surrey

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Last chance to sign up to vote in leadership election

Labour CND C20150806_124106hair Jeremy Corbyn MP continues to make waves in the continuing leadershipelection. All of Jeremy’s rallies are standing room only and his policy positions, including opposition to Trident, are resonating with Labour Party members and supporters.

Jeremy is the only leadership candidate who opposes replacement of Trident. With a vote on replacement expected in Parliament in 2016 it is vital that the millions of anti-Trident voices are heard

If you have not yet signed up to vote in the election, you now have less than 24 hours to do so. You can either become a member of the Labour Party, pay £3 to become a registered support or if you are a member of an affiliated organisation it’s free. Once you have signed up you will receive your ballot papers in the next few days.

If you live in London you will also have the chance to vote for Labour’s mayoral candidate ahead of the election next year. Labour CND is supporting Diane Abbott, who has been a long standing supporter of a world without nuclear weapons.

You can sign up to vote in the election here: http://www.labour.org.uk/w/labour-party-supporters

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Ensure your voice is heard in the leadership election

jeremyThe Labour Party is currently in the process of deciding its next leader, with five candidates in the running at this stage. Only one, Jeremy Corbyn, is against the renewal of the UKs Trident nuclear weapons system which would not only keep the country on a Cold War footing but would also cost £100bn at a time of continuing austerity.

This is the first time that individuals can register as a supporter and vote on the next leader without being a member of the Labour Party. It will cost you £3 to become a Registered Supporter (or it is free if you are a member of a Trade Union or other organisation already affiliated to the Labour Party).

Jeremy has been an active supporter of CND for many years and Labour CND is working to ensure that he makes it to the final ballot. There is widespread support for disarmament across the Labour movement and it is vital that these views are represented in the leadership debate.

If you live in London you will also be able to vote for Labour’s mayoral candidate ahead of the 2016 election. Labour CND is recommending that you support Diane Abbott, who has a long standing position against nuclear weapons.

You must sign up by 12th August to be eligible to vote in these contests. Details at http://www.labour.org.uk/w/labour-party-supporters

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Jane Basham – Scrapping Trident would reflect true Labour values

basham_jane-12My position against nuclear weapons is an instinctive one and was formed for 2 reasons.

Firstly in my history lessons at school I remember not quite believing someone had taken the decision to kill so many people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The pictures of death and destruction in the text books were haunting. The image of the mushroom cloud menacing.

Secondly I had my precious daughter in 1987. In the years leading up to this significant event in my life I remember images and interviews about the Women of Greenham on the TV and in newspapers.

A Greenham Common campaigner was interviewed. She spoke about meeting a young woman from Japan. She explained that Japanese women after the nuclear explosion were never congratulated on being pregnant. Rather the women waited anxiously for 9 months for their child- wondering what disabilities or ‘deformities’ their child might have: whether they would survive at all.

I remember during my pregnancy taking all the advice I could. I stopped smoking and drinking. I knew that I was completely responsible for what this woman from Greenham described as the ‘safe passage of life’. The’ safe passage of life’ of my daughter.The mothers in Japan had that responsibility taken away from them. So this was my starting point.

I relate absolutely with Angie Zelter well known anti Trident and Peace campaigner. Angie boldly ‘reclaims’ the initials AWE. AWE is used to describe the Atomic Weapons Establishments in Burghfield and Aldermarston. Angie changes these initials to mean Atomic Weapons Eradication.

Like Angie I believe that everything that is happening is connected. Despite attempts to blame ‘religion’ there is no doubt in my mind that nations who have the major nuclear weapons are behind most of the current conflicts. These conflicts are in reality about control of significant resources.

War represents a deeply entrenched patriarchal culture. Where qualities that are attributed to ‘real men’ (strong, hard, dominant, combative) are valued above all others. This year we have remembered those who died in the 1st World War. There has been much emphasis on the idea of defending honour and nation. These qualities largely ignore women’s values, and the values of men who reject patriarchy.

Angie said last year ‘The aggressive, controlling, narrow, hierarchical, growth at all costs culture, impacts women all over the world from their being ignored, de-valued, and bullied, to their giving birth to deformed and disabled children, to having little access to food or land, to being raped and killed.’ Her words resonate.

There are 40 Trident warheads per submarine. Each of these could kill over 1 million people. Then there is the suffering endured by those who die from secondary radiation exposure. All of this destruction – at the push of a button. Unthinkable. Being opposed to nuclear weapons is about taking responsibility for all life – for humanity. Labour values.

I am pleased that Trident will be part of the Strategic Review on defence under a Labour Government. The review does not go far enough in my opinion.

Senior Army officials spoke out at the time that this Government did not include a review of Trident in its 2010 Strategic Defence Review. Increasingly there is a view that getting rid of nuclear weapons is the way to achieve a safer world.

At last weeks CND Labour AGM someone said ‘I think that we have lost our fear. That the memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has faded and people are no longer worried about a nuclear attack’. Sadly I think they are right.

Replacing Trident would cost between £30-100 billion. Imagine what else that money could be spent on. We talk a lot about inhumanity in the Labour Party – the cruel Bedroom Tax, Welfare Reform, cuts to Legal Aid and Refuges. What could be crueller and a greater risk to humanity than a nuclear war? I believe that scrapping Trident would provide the moral leadership this country needs.

Scrapping Trident would mean each and every one of us could take responsibility for that safe passage in life.

Jane Basham was Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate in South Suffolk in 2015 where she recieved one of the largest increases in vote share in the region. In 2013 Jane won the first round of voting in the Police and Crime Commissioner elections. She is Eastern Region representative on Labour CND Executive.

This article was first published on LabourList.

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Morning Star letter – Leadership election

Labour CND Executive Member Rae Street had the following letter on the recent article by Polly Toynbee on Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership bid published in the Morning Star on Tuesday 31 June.

Dear Editor,

‘With Friends Like These’….

This week  a broadsheet newspaper ran an article by a well known journalist, supposedly Labour Party supporter, on the Labour Leadership, Polly Toynbee.

She wrote that Jeremy was a ‘1983 man, a relic of the election that brought him to parliament when Labour was destroyed by its out-of NATO, anti EU, renationalise-everything suicide note’. 

According to this article he is a ‘romantic’  and voting for him would be ‘ignoring the electorate’.  Which electorate I ask myself?

She claimed his stand on opposing Trident among other issues made Labour imagine they were ‘unelectably reckless.’  But this commentator seems to be unaware of what happened in Scotland.  Voters knew full well the SNP were against Triident and austerity and voted in unprecedented numbers for those policies.  They didn’t vote for the Labour Party led by Jim Murphy which was supporting Trident replacement.

Jeremy is not a ‘relic’ ; he represents for thousands of people what the Labour Party should stand for:  He is living in the real world where thousands across the UK and the world agree with him.

In solidarity,

Rae Street