Labour CND committee member Chris Butler submitted a comment on the Defence Diversification Agency to Labour’s Policy Forum website. It’s already sparked a lively exchange, and we hope others will engage – and perhaps consider using Chris’s comments as the basis for a motion to your branch or constituency party.
Support for a Defence Diversification Agency was adopted by 2017 Trade Union Congress, as we reported at the time.
Checked out the Labour Party website lately? If so, you’ll have noticed that one of the changes takes you to a Policy Forum page where you can have your say about any of Labour’s policy commissions. You can make a submission on a topic of your choice, click on the ‘get involved’ tab at the top of the page or comment and vote on other people’s submissions.
Continue reading “Labour’s Policy Forum: Speak up on Trident”
CND UK has a stall at the Labour Assembly Against Austerity Annual Conference in London this coming Saturday, 28th October. If you’ve a few hours to spare to help with this, please contact CND’s Campaigns Officer directly at Sara.Medi.Jones@cnduk.org. In return for helping us share information about CND at the stall, you’ll get a free ticket to the event.
The Pentagon is starting to spend £200m at Croughton, building the new Joint Intelligence Analysis Centre, developing this base’s communication, command and control systems into a ‘major intelligence base’.
Oxford CND invites you to a march and rally at USAF Croughton, on Saturday 7th October, 12.00 noon – 4.00pm. See details on below leaflet and map.
Did you know that despite heightened nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula Britain will be participating in US-led military exercises there for 10 days beginning Monday 21 August? These war games are a simulation of war with North Korea which involves around 85,000 land, sea and air personnel.
The government is keeping shtum about UK involvement – how many British forces and from which services will be taking part. But in the House of Lords in January, however, Defence Minister Earl Howe confirmed that the UK does take part in these exercises.
Corbyn’s response
Jeremy Corbyn has urged the government to refrain from military intervention in North Korea, including the forthcoming Ulchi-Freedom Guardian exercises.
Continue reading “UK participates in military exercises on Korean Peninsula”
Labour CND has prepared two Contemporary Motions, which we hope Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) will submit for debate at the Labour Party conference. Please do take these motions to your CLP meetings – if the motions are chosen by delegates as one of the four for debate at the conference and passed, they should become Party policy! Please note there is a 250 word limit on motions submitted for conference.
The deadline for submission of Contemporary Motions is 14 September. It is therefore essential that your CLP meets to discuss this issue before that date. We need as many submissions as possible to ensure that we cannot be ignored by the Conference Arrangements Committee (CAC).
The Labour Party conference is approaching!
Your Constituency Labour Party (CLP) can submit a Contemporary Motion for debate at the Labour Party conference. A motion is a way of putting forward a topic which, if chosen by delegates as one of the four for debate at the conference and passed, should become Party policy.
Trident renewal is the most important policy issue which needs to change. Otherwise the Labour Party manifesto 2017 is without equal.
Labour CND will put together suitable wording for a motion but this cannot be done until after 1 August when the National Policy Forum (NPF) report is released. The deadline for submission of Contemporary Motions is 14 September. It is therefore essential that your CLP meets to discuss this issue before that date.
We need as many submissions as possible to ensure that we cannot be ignored by the Conference Arrangements Committee (CAC).
IT’S NOT TOO LATE, REGISTER NOW TO VOTE
The General Election takes place Thursday 8 June 2017. We hope that all Labour CND subscribers are already registered to vote on Thursday 8 June – and out on the doorstep with their local party.
But if someone you know hasn’t registered to vote yet, it’s not too late. Applications must be in by MONDAY 22 MAY. Registration takes just a couple of minutes, less time than making a cup of tea!
Register online now at gov.uk/register-to-vote/ If you know of anyone who wants to register but is not internet connected, download a form for them at yourvotematters.co.uk and get them to contact the local council.
Students with a different home and term-time addresses can register at both – but only vote in one. If this is you, chose which carefully – it can make a difference.
Postal votes – the deadline for a postal vote’s earlier, Friday 19 May.
The Labour Party is reviewing its defence policy, including Trident. Everyone is eligible to participate in this review by making their views known to Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary Emily Thornberry, before the 30th April deadline.
Individuals and organisations can participate. You don’t have to be a Labour Party member or affiliate to do so. Submissions opposing Trident replacement can help influence the eventual outcome of Labour’s deliberations, and I urge you to consider making your views, and those of organisations you belong to, known. The advice below will, I hope, help you to do so.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
Any individual or organisation, whether or not they’re a Labour Party member or affiliate. Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, Emily Thornberry, the author of the policy review document says: ‘We want to seek the widest possible range of views, spanning academia, the defence industry, NGOs, parliamentarians, the public and, of course, members of the armed forces themselves.’
IS THERE A PARTICULAR FORMAT?
You can express your opinion in whatever way you find easiest. The Defence Policy Review document (attached) sets out Ms Thornberry’s terms of reference expressed as a series of questions which you might consider addressing.
The one about Trident is: ‘Will renewal of Britain?s nuclear capability aid us in protecting Britain?s security and pursuing the values that guide our foreign and defence policy?’
Ms Thornberry begins by explaining that the nature of the threats facing Britain has changed in the past 50 years, and outlining the overall context of Labour’s review with questions such as: ‘What role should Britain play in building a world that is more peaceful, more just and safer?’ and ‘What should be the values and principles that drive Britain’s strategic defence policy?’
HOW MUCH SHOULD I WRITE?
You don’t have to produce a magnum opus or a details scientific tract -?a paragraph or two will do. Say what you think of Trident and give a couple of reasons why. There’s an example below, use it as encouragement. But please don’t copy it -?large numbers of identical submissions won’t be effective.
I oppose the replacement of Trident because nuclear weapons cause indiscriminate harm to the planet and its people. Their possession by countries such as Britain encourages proliferation by others who don?t have nuclear weapons. Replacing Trident doesn?t protect us from the main risks facing this country such as terrorism, cyber-attack, or the effects of climate change like floods and storms. Trident is extremely expensive, costing an estimated ?100 billion over its lifetime. The money could be better used for socially productive and wealth-generating projects, which would help create more money for the government to spend on health, education and social services.
ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO PARTICIPATE
If you’re a member of a CND group, trade union branch or local Trades Council, or community campaign, please encourage them to take a view on Trident and send it to Labour’s Defence Review with a brief explanation of what the organisation is and how Trident replacement affects its members. For example: My housing association is opposed to Trident replacement because… and would prefer the money to be spent on improving existing social housing and on providing more affordable new homes.
SUBMISSIONS FROM BRANCH AND CONSTITUENCY LABOUR PARTIES
It?s important that as many individual party members as possible send their views to Ms Thornberry. This helps to give a true reflection of party opinion. If your Labour Party branch and/or constituency has adopted a policy against Trident replacement, send a copy of the resolution to the Defence Review, with a few comments about the views members expressed.
Many branch and constituency parties aren?t meeting in April because of elections. If your party has adopted a policy against Trident replacement in the past few years, send that to the Defence Policy Review with an explanation that the elections have prevented a contemporary discussion in time for the Defence Review deadline.
WHERE TO SEND YOUR VIEWS
Your submission should be emailed to defencereview@labour.org.uk If you don’t have email access, mail it to The Labour Party, Southside, 105 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6QT
RESOURCES
– A copy of Labour?s Defence Policy Review can be downloaded through the through the Labour CND website
– Labour CND has produced a Trident Fact File which can provide some information you need to draft a submission.
–CND UK website has a number of briefings you can use to dig out pertinent information.
Good luck, and thank you for your efforts,
Carol Turner
Vice Chair, Labour CND
