Peace Group re-launches at New Year party

Peace Groups new logo

Littleborough and District Peace Group re-launched as Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group at its New Year’s party in Spotland on Wednesday 10 January. Members welcomed 2007 with a renewed determination to halt the government’s plans to continue with its nuclear weapons programme. They officially adopted the new name for the group and its new logo.

Philip Gilligan, commenting on behalf of the group, said: “There has always been very close co-operation between peace campaigners in Rochdale and Littleborough, and this has increased rapidly since 2002 when Littleborough Peace Group and Rochdale Stop the War Coalition began to hold many joint events to oppose the invasion of Iraq and to campaign against the replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system. We organise meetings in, and have large numbers of members from, both Littleborough and Rochdale. We campaign on the street in central Rochdale on the last Saturday of every month, so it seems only logical to rename the group to recognise these facts. We also want to acknowledge that Rochdale, like Littleborough is overwhelmingly opposed to the government’s warmongering and to its plans to squander tens of £billions on building ever deadlier weapons of mass destruction, while, at the same time closing our accident and emergency department, our maternity unit and many other essential local services.”

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group will remain affiliated to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). It will continue to work closely with Rochdale Stop the War Coalition. In the next few weeks, the group will be especially active in mobilising support for the national demonstration in London on Saturday 24 February, which CND and Stop the War Coalition have called to oppose government plans for ‘Trident Replacement’ and to call for the immediate withdrawal of the British army from Iraq.