Renewal of Trident

I applaud Nigel Griffiths decision to stand down as deputy leader of the commons as he prepares to vote against the renewal of Trident.
Its a principled stand and the right one. Like Nigel I want a world protected by peacemaking not simply the absence of war created through fear.
I will be at the vigil on the Mound in Edinburgh at 6pm on Wednesday 14th as the vote goes to the house of commons.
I can't decide what distresses me more. That the leadership of my party is proposing to renew Trident or that the vote will carry on Tory support. Its bad enough promoting weapons of mass destruction but to get them through the commons on the back of Tory votes is particularly insidious.

Trident

I am deeply distressed and disappointed about the direction of debate in my Party over Trident. I cannot see any moral, ethical or legal argument why we would want to spend billions of pounds on a weapon of mass destruction which not only do we not want to use in anger, but we then use to bring about a type of peace which is actually merely an absence of war, which is no peace at all. Our possession of said weapons have not helped us one iota in the present wars in which we are entangled. I do not believe that we would lose our place on the national stage if we removed Trident. On the contrary, we would enter the world stage with a new integrity where we reached out in trust not in threat. And perhaps more importantly, we would be seen to be once again forging our own path and not limping along in Americas wake.