LETTER: Saddened by Trident decision

I am very saddened, but not surprised, by the result of the vote by the House of Commons to renew Trident. The recently, unelected, Prime Minister claims it would be “irresponsible to scrap Trident”.

I dispute that claim; I say that it is irresponsible to renew Trident.

We are living in times of austerity, foisted upon us by this government; informed that cuts in services and to our standard of living are essential; yet the cost to renew these actual weapons of mass destruction is estimated to be billions of pounds.

Incidentally, though pressed numerous times for actual figures, the Prime Minister was unable to give a definitive answer.

We need to invest in our people, in our NHS, in education, in affordable housing and jobs; not an alleged deterrent, that if it were ever used, would wreak total devastation to humanity and this planet.

The use of nuclear weapons is morally wrong and is actually illegal in international law.

Trident is not, and has never been, an effective deterrent.

Few would dispute that the main risk to our national security are terrorist threats from ISIS. How effective were nuclear weapons at preventing their atrocities?

The timing of this vote is questionable especially as it appears that there has been no serious debate on the subject; if there had been then surely these outdated, unimaginably costly and deathly weapons would have been designated as radioactive waste.

Let us remind ourselves that even former PM Tony Blair acknowledged that the only reason for maintaining Trident was to give Britain status on the global stage.

I am also given to believe that we need to contact America in order to use the warheads.

Let us stop with this machismo posturing and focus on improving life for our communities by investing this apparent surplus of capital into realistic and achievable goals.

Georgina Harrison
Spalding