The Scottish Socialist Party’s candidate in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, Collette Bradley, has called for the scrapping of Trident weapons of mass destruction, ahead of speaking at election hustings in Hamilton, organised by Scottish CND.
The trade union, socialist and anti-war activist said:
“Years ago, Tony Blair’s Labour government dragged us into an illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq under the false claim that it was to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. This was subsequently proven to be a lie.
“But meantime, up the Clyde, we have our very own weapons of mass destruction; nuclear warheads that would wipe out a big proportion of the population if they were ever deployed. And in fact, they’re not really ours, they are leased by the British government from America, who have ultimate control over their use.
“Labour has kept and will keep Trident. Worrying noises from inside the SNP recently suggest some of them also favour keeping Trident.”
“The Scottish Socialist Party has consistently called for Trident nuclear weapons to be scrapped, and the workers involved to be redeployed, with no loss of wages or conditions,to peaceful productive purposes.
“It’s outrageous that while a million Scots live below the breadline – including nearly a quarter of all children – Scottish people are expected to fork out £1.5million every single day for the next 30 years towards Trident renewal.
“The overall cost of this new generation of Trident is at least £205billion, according to research by CND.
“Imagine how many houses could be built with that amount of public expenditure. Imagine how many hospitals and schools and community centres could be funded.
“I strongly believe, as does the entire Scottish Socialist Party, that we should invest in bairns not bombs, in nurses not nukes, in welfare not warfare.
“And research by Scottish CND and the Scottish Trades Union Congress over the years has proven that far more jobs could be created through diversification away from nuclear weaponry to use of the skills of these workers for socially useful and peaceful purposes.
“We need these workers’ skills, but we certainly don’t need the Trident weapons. That’s why the SSP is persistent in its campaigning for a nuclear-free, independent socialist Scotland.”
