Peace campaigners give Gordon Brown a clear message

Rochdale Peace Campaigners Give Gordon Brown A Clear Message

Peace campaigners from Rochdale were well represented at the demonstration which greeted Gordon Brown in Manchester on Wednesday 16 May. The protest was called at very short notice by Greater Manchester and District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Stop the War Coalition to remind the prime minister in waiting that they want him to reverse many of Tony Blair’s policies. 

Daniel Jessop from Rochdale spoke to Channel M News from outside New Century House. He said that he and his fellow campaigners had come to the demonstration with three clear messages for Gordon Brown: “We want the troops out of Iraq by October. We don’t want any further intervention in Iran and we to say ‘No’ to any further development of nuclear weapons”. 

Philip Gilligan, on behalf of Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group said: “A majority of Labour MPs have prevented the rank and file members from having any say in the leadership election, but we are confident that ordinary members of the party will, like the majority of people in the country, be demanding policy changes from Gordon Brown. Ninety five Labour MPs recently voted against the government’s plans to squander billions on upgrading the Trident nuclear weapons system and the campaign to rid Britain of these nuclear weapons of mass destruction is gaining momentum day by day. It is time for Britain to abandon Blair’s warmongering and adopt policies of peace and disarmament. We will be reminding Mr Brown over and over again that we want troops out of Iraq and we want the dangerous Trident nuclear weapons system decommissioned.”