Peace Group say 'People Not Trident'

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group campaigners on the street

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group joined fellow campaigners from Greater Manchester and District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (GMDCND) on the streets on Saturday (11 April) urging people to think about the issue of nuclear weapons when they vote on 7 May.

They highlighted the fact that current plans to replace the Trident nuclear missile system will cost the country £100 billion (£100,000,000,000) and noted that the government already spends £6.6 million a day on nuclear weapons.

They described this as 'an appalling waste' and stressed that cancelling the Trident replacement would release around £100 billion which could be spent on healthcare, education, housing and energy, which they described as 'the things we need'.

Philip Gilligan, on behalf of the Peace Group, said: "With the final vote on Trident replacement due in 2016, at an estimated cost of £100bn, this is the final election before the decision – and it is one which requires a higher level of debate than we are seeing at the moment.

"Senior military figures warn that the £100bn white elephant of Trident replacement does nothing to keep us safe.

"How a blind commitment to squandering our overstretched national resources on an outdated weapon of mass destruction can be touted as being 'strong on defence' is beyond me.

"It's time to ensure that we vote only for parliamentary candidates who are opposed to so-called 'Trident Replacement'. It's time for the Conservatives and Labour to wake up to the huge public opposition to Trident. It's time to scrap Trident, save £100bn, and spend it on things we really need."