Rochdale Peace Group protests against Trident

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group protest against the Trident nuclear programme

‘Cut Trident not Treatment!’, ‘Cut Nukes not Nurses!’ ‘Fund Welfare not Warfare!’ were amongst the messages that Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group shared with shoppers in Yorkshire Street on Saturday (12 June 2010).

They displayed a mock Trident nuclear missile with a label of £97 billion and demanded that the Government abandons plans to replace Trident and spends all monies saved on improving the country’s education, health and social care services.

Philip Gilligan, on behalf of the Peace Group said: “On 6 May 2010, an overwhelming majority of voters in Rochdale and in Heywood and Middleton voted for parliamentary candidates who had clearly declared their opposition to so-called ‘Trident Replacement'.

“Based on population, Rochdale’s share of the current costs already amounts to £7 million per year. Greenpeace estimates that the true cost of ‘Trident Replacement’ will total £97 billion. Rochdale’s share of this would amount to a staggering £300 million. This is money that could and should be spent on essential health, education and social care services.”