Trident and poverty.
Those of you who know me either personally or on Twitter etc will know that I'm a keen anti-poverty campaigner. My mantra is and has always been that POVERTY ISN'T INEVITABLE and to paraphrase Nelson Mandela "it like racism is man-made and can be/must be eradicated."The idea of totally eradicating poverty may seem like pie in the sky to many. My arguement would be that setting a target on getting poverty down to 15% or 10% or 5% or even 1% would still be failing those people. They've been failed enough aleady.
Below is the opening paragraph from the Oxfam Wales page
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/cymru/poverty-in-wales
Poverty in Wales
Poverty in Wales isn't about drought, war or starvation - as it can be in developing countries - but it's every bit as real.
Below the opening paragraph from Save the Children
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/where-we-work/united-kingdom/wales
Wales
Almost one child in three lives in poverty in Wales. This is a higher proportion than in any other nation in the UK and equates to almost 200,000 children.Both are obviously correct and equally alarming. Poverty is a stain upon our nation that we should all be ashamed of.
Below is information from the Estyn inspection to Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi in Holyhead.
The school’s catchment area includes four wards to which the Welsh Governmenthas granted Communities First status because of the high levels of economic and
social disadvantage. Nearly 40% of pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas in
Wales.The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is 24%, which is higher
than the national average of 17.4%.
So what am I driving at? What can be done?
Everything! Recently MP's including the Labour MP for Ynys Mon voted FOR Trident reneweal. 472 - 117 voted in favour of wasting billions of poinds. Estimates vary but Greenpeace puts the cost of renewal at £34bn, while the government says it is closer to £20bn, and there are further costs involved in maintaining it. So there we are!
The biggest MYTH peddled about Trident is that it will keep us safe! WRONG.
In fact – across the armed forces – there are grave concerns that Britain’s nuclear weapons system neither addresses the real security threats facing Britain, nor represents value for money.
In a serious political intervention, Major General Patrick Cordingley, who led British forces in the first Gulf War, said:
‘Strategic nuclear weapons have no military use. It would seem the government wishes to replace Trident simply to remain a nuclear power alongside the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council. This is misguided and flies in the face of public opinion; we have more to offer than nuclear bombs.’
Read more here http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/06/tridents-outdated-waste-even-military-say-so
So there we have it. Rather than working to eradicate poverty. Rather than spending on helping to get people out of poverty. Rather than giving people the leg up they neeed. Rather than ensuring children don't come to school hungry. Rather than ensuring parents don't skip meals to feed their children. Rather than making sure people this winter don't have to chose between heating and eating. Rather than ALL that - MP's Labour and Tory would rather WASTE billions on weapons of death that won't be used.
C'mon people we can do better than this. to quote a true gent and politician - Tony Benn
'We have the best defended homeless people in the world'
Imagine the difference spending 1% or even 10% of the money destined for Trident would make! Imagine what 100% would do!
I'm very proud and thankful that Plaid Cymru MP's along with other progressives opposed Trident renewal and supported the people.
It is my firm view, based on the best available evidence, that renewing Trident will not only fail to improve Britain’s security, but in fact poses significant dangers to us. These weapons of mass destruction have the potential to cause death on an unimaginable scale, and they do nothing to hinder the real threat of lone gunmen or extremists. Their very presence here – and the transport of nuclear warheads on our roads – is not only a target for terrorism but a continued risk of accidents linked to human error or technical failure. A recent report from Chatham House confirms this threat, listing 13 occasions from across the world when nuclear weapons were nearly launched accidentally. These weapons present a huge risk – and there’s no evidence to suggest they keep us any safer. Keeping these weapons sends a dangerous signal to the rest of the world that security is dependent on being able to use weapons of mass destruction, and thus drives proliferation. Investing in renewable energy would create millions more jobs than nuclear weapons will ever will.
ReplyDeleteWhat is alarming is that figures show relative poverty - which is calculated as households earning 60% of average income - has seen little change in Wales in nearly 20 years. Despite an action plan to tackle poverty since 2012, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) forecasts that child poverty in Wales could increase by about a third by 2020. Child poverty is a disgrace and a ball and chain around Wales future economic development. Giving up on Trident and spending some of the money on Welsh poverty could mitigate the effects of the UK government's welfare reforms and austerity measures, which have had a detrimental impact on people in Wales.