CND protest at RAF Lakenheath, 20 September

Christine Shawcroft calls for support for CND’s demonstration in opposition to Trump’s nukes in Britain, arguing we are no longer a sovereign state. Britain looks more and more like a puppet of the United States. Never forget, she warns, from Washington, no one can hear you scream.


A national demonstration outside ‘RAF’ Lakenheath in Suffolk has been called for Saturday, 20th September, against the suspected deployment of US nuclear weapons – Trump’s nukes! Actually, the title ‘USAF’ would be a more suitable name for the base, as it is run by the US Air Force and, at the moment, only hosts USAF units and personnel.

Our own government attempts to keep activities at the base shrouded in secrecy, and we only found out about the US government’s plans when campaigners saw a US Department of Defence document which included the UK on a list of nuclear weapons storage locations in Europe.

Since then, observers in July tracked a transport plane flying from the US main nuclear storage site in New Mexico to the Suffolk base, and it is believed that B61-12 nuclear bombs have now been deployed at Lakenheath. This is the first time US nukes have been stationed here since 2008. The base had previously hosted US nuclear weapons for more than 50 years, starting in 1954. Not only does the return of US weapons of mass destruction to British soil ramp up international tensions and make south east England into a target in the event of the war with Russia on which NATO seems so keen, the local community is also in danger from the risk of accidents involving the nukes.

Lakenheath has previous on this. In 1956 a B-47 bomber on a routine training mission crashed into a nuclear weapons store, killing four servicemen. Both the US and British governments tried to cover it up, but official US documents were eventually found which stated that it was a ‘miracle’ that none of the bombs exploded, and that part of eastern England could have become ‘a desert’. In 1961, a plane with a nuclear bomb on board caught fire. The bomb itself was scorched by fire, and scientific investigators found that it could easily have detonated. And those are just two accidents that we have found out about, as the governments concerned admitted them – but only in 1979 and 2003, respectively.

There may have been other serious incidents which have yet to come to light, and even more worryingly, CND has discovered that US forces have been given a blanket exemption from major safety regulations when operating in the UK. They are not legally bound to have plans to deal with emergencies involving radioactive material and nuclear weapons. Yet there are several population centres in the region which could be put in deadly danger by any accidental leaks of radiation, not to mention the risks of larger nuclear accidents.

Over 60% of British people are opposed to US nuclear weapons returning to British bases. A government which puts out documents stating that their main objective is the safety of the population and ‘national security’ should be expected to come clean about what is happening. Unfortunately, our government prefers secrecy and will neither confirm nor deny developments when campaigners attempt to shed light on the risks they are running. Needless to say there has been no debate in Parliament, and certainly no vote.

It is the definition of a sovereign country that it should have an independent foreign policy. By this measure, Britain is no longer a sovereign state and looks more and more like a puppet of the United States. Never forget – from Washington, no one can hear you scream.

* You can find information about the demonstration, including transport arrangements here.
* This article was first published in Labour Outlook

Is whose interests does the government govern?

Christine Shawcroft peeps behind the curtain of democratically elected governments and asks whose interests are actually represented by cutting welfare to increase military spending.

In the golden olden days of the Daily Mirror under the leadership of Hugh Cudlipp, the paper used to specialise in front pages entirely consisting of huge black headlines saying things like, ‘Are we all bloody mad?’. One could be forgiven for thinking that they were several decades ahead of their time.

We no longer have even the shreds of a left-leaning daily press, the Mirror having been consumed by celebrity gossip long ago, and the Guardian having more recently completely capitulated to the British establishment. But if ever an independent media were needed to question the sanity of what is going on worldwide, that time is now.

It is being accepted as normal for multi-national corporations to run the world in their interests, having subverted democracy by the simple expedient of purchasing all the political parties. An American observer recently commented that the US is back in the 19th century, when there was no semblance of democracy and the country was run by the powerful.

Here in Europe, we seem to have been catapulted back into the feudal Middle Ages, when the peasants were kept in line by the aristocracy. We may have the appearance of democratically elected governments, but a close look at what they actually do shows that they certainly aren’t operating in the interests of those who elected them.

The Labour government’s welfare cuts in order to spend more on the military are a case in point. Wildly unpopular, with 71% of Labour members opposed to their measures, the government insists that military spending will benefit the economy and create jobs. And who told them this? Why, the arms manufacturers, of course. The same ones who gave them large donations in the run up to the general election.

Fortunately, we have research done for the Scottish government to back us up. Military spending does not create jobs. The armed forces can kill people more easily at a distance with drones; the role of boots on the ground is rapidly becoming obsolete. Spending on public services creates far more jobs than military spending, and spending on health services creates two and a half times more jobs. So clearly, although the government pretends their focus is on job creation (all the while making cuts which can only lead to job losses), clearly something else is going on.

Keir Starmer insists that the defence of the country has been run down, so he has to commit huge sums of money to national security. Europe is in danger of a Russian invasion, so we all have to spend more and more on weapons.

He seems to think that assuming a leadership role in this new Cold War will enable him to strut around the world stage like Winston Churchill. Yet NATO already vastly outspends the Russians on armaments. Our own country has enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet five times over.

Add up all the nukes held by all the nuclear powers and there’s enough to destroy the solar system. If we really needed more military spending, we could fund it via a wealth tax, which even Tory voters back. But it is opposed by the wealthy.

Some of the wealthiest are arms firms CEOs. So, they make shedloads from government spending, then hang on to their sheds by lobbying the government party (to which they made huge donations) not to increase their taxes.

Are we all bloody mad?

This article first appeared in the May 2025 edition of Original Labour Briefing

A Minister for Peace and Disarmament

Wednesday 11th October, 6.30pm to 8.00pm
Wilson Room, Portcullis House, Victoria Embankment, SW1A 2JR

with

Fabian Hamilton MP, Labour Shadow Peace and Disarmament Minister
Christine Shawcroft, Labour Party National Executive Committee
Daniel Blaney, Labour CND

Fifty three countries signed the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on 20 September, the first day it opened for signature. But the UK government has refused ever to sign it. Labour’s manifesto promises to create a Minister for Peace and Disarmament, part of its commitment to reducing human suffering caused by war by focussing on protecting civilians, conflict prevention and resolution, and peace-building, London CND asks if and how these policies can reshape the war culture of past decades.

All welcome