‘Rochdale needs jobs and services, not nuclear weapons’

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group leafleted in Rochdale town centre on Saturday 19 May 2012 saying that ‘Rochdale needs jobs and services, not nuclear weapons’. They called for an immediate end to spending on the Trident nuclear weapons system and for the scrapping of expensive plans to upgrade it. They asked people to sign postcards from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament calling on their MP to “Please stop our precious money being spent on nuclear weapons.” 

On behalf of the Peace Group, Philip Gilligan said,

“People in Rochdale have now been on the sharp end of cuts in essential local services for several years. We have lost acute inpatient services across the board at Rochdale Infirmary, and our Council has been forced to slash tens of £millions from planned spending on services for some of the most vulnerable groups in our communities. Those signing our postcards included several people who told us harrowing stories of their own recent experiences; of jobs being downgraded so that experienced staff lose their jobs, of patients and service users receiving inadequate services and of people suffering from cancer being expected to make their way home from the Christie Hospital at 3 am in the morning.

Yet, while vulnerable people receive worse services and committed workers lose their jobs, the Government, with support from the Labour Party’s national leadership, continues to squander £2.2 billion every year on the Trident nuclear weapons system and refuses to abandon plans to develop even deadlier nuclear weapons of mass destruction at an estimated cost of £97billion. This is money which could be spent on improving and defending the services we need.

Based on population, Rochdale’s share of the current costs of Britain’s nuclear arsenal already amounts to £7million per year, but the staggering cost to Rochdale of so-called ’Trident Replacement’ totals over £300million. This is more than the Council would need to restore and maintain all local services at their previous uncut levels. Rochdale’s £300million could and should be spent, on essential health, education and social services. It is time to tell the government and all those who support retention of nuclear weapons that we want our taxes spent on decent local services not nuclear weapons.”

“A nuclear- free Britain would be £billions better off. Trident is a dangerous waste of public money”, he added.

Peace Group welcomes campaigners from around the world

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group welcomed fellow peace campaigners from Japan, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Costa Rica, Norway, the USA over the weekend. Local campaigners hosted delegates attending meetings of the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW), culminating in a meal at Rae Street’s house in Littleborough on Sunday evening (18 March 2012)

ICBUW is a global coalition of 156 organisations in 32 countries throughout the world. Their meeting renewed the call for a ban on the use, transport, manufacture, sale and export of all uranium weapons and called on the British government, in particular, to use its influence to persuade the USA to reveal where and when it has used such weapons and, thus where and when troops and civilians may have been contaminated by the resulting radiation.

Those attending the meal in Littleborough included Dr Katsumi Furitsu who is a medical expert on the effects of radiation.

She was very pleased to hear that the peace group’s recent ceilidh had raised funds for the Strong Children Japan project which is run by former Littleborough resident, Geoff Read. Dr Furitsu highlighted the ongoing and very serious impact of the nuclear disaster following the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power station in March 2011.

She said

“The situation in Japan remains extremely grave. Four million people are living in areas contaminated by levels of radiation above those we judge to be safe. Children especially remain at risk from radiation poisoning and the danger will be with us for many decades to come. Parents are rightly worried about the risk from contaminated foodstuffs and about whether the government and the nuclear industry is providing accurate information about the dangers posed by health problems such as thyroid cancers. Our experience in Japan tells us that nuclear power is too dangerous to use. The risks are too great. Throughout the world, we need to focus our attention and resources on developing alternative renewable energy sources not on building nuclear power stations that threaten the future of our planet and the lives of generations to come.”

For more information about ICBUW, see http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/i/20.html

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