Gateshead Greens call for the scrapping Trident and building a green economy 0
Gateshead Green Party today called for the scrapping of Trident and cancelling the programme to develop a replacement nuclear deterrent. The Green Party candidate for Gateshead Andy Redfern said “We have an opportunity to make the United Kingdom a nuclear weapon free country. We should grab that opportunity with both hands. Initial estimates suggest that the cost of replacing Trident will be around £25 billion. That’s the equivalent of the money needed to pay for 60,000 newly qualified nurses and 60,000 new secondary school teachers for the next 10 years.”
“Disarmament isn’t a dream. It can happen, and has happened in many places around the world. In a few short weeks, the British electorate has the opportunity to have its say too. We must send a message to all parties, that replacing Trident is immoral, irrelevant – and a cost simply not worth paying.”
Redfern added “We have a once in a generation opportunity to scrap our weapons and turn the skills we have to building an economy built on sustainable power generation. The North East has already built the foundation to the lead the way – cancelling Trident and investing in Green engineering jobs is the obvious next step.”
