Workers' Liberty

Solidarity’s current debate about the future of the nuclear industry appears to be an argument at cross purposes. Martin Thomas, Les Hearn and others have argued that nuclear is not as dangerous or as lethal as some other energy sources like coal. If only we had a planned economy under workers’ control without a £70 billion Trident replacement project in the pipeline, then nuclear would be a good idea.

Is this Solidarity or Green World that I’m reading? According to Stuart Jordan (24 Jan), whatever the answer to climate change is, it’s not nuclear power! Nuclear plants are always late and over budget, unlike anything else.
Apparently, uranium would run out in 10 years, a fact that had escaped the companies that are keen to build and run new power stations. So why is Gordon Brown keen on nuclear? Because his brother is a “lobbyist” for EDF!

Of course!

Nuclear power is dangerous, expensive and unnecessary to cut global greenhouse gas emissions. It is bound up with nuclear weapons. We should oppose the expansion of nuclear power in today’s conditions of capitalist globalisation.

This morning, we were treated to an address by TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber.

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By Colin Foster

In September 2006 the TUC resolved: “Congress calls upon the Government not to replace Trident.”

by Amy Fisher

In his foreword to the Government's white paper on the replacement of the Trident nuclear missile system, Tony Blair writes of the need to "deter" countries who might "seek to sponsor nuclear terrorism". In fact, the system exists for no other reason than to reinforce British imperialism's power to terrorise.

By Sacha Ismail

North Korea’s underground detonation of a nuclear device on 9 October, with the threat of more tests to come, should be a cause of major alarm for the labour movement and left internationally.

By Sacha Ismail

In a speech to the City of London on 20 June, Gordon Brown committed himself to “retaining an independent nuclear deterrent”. A Brown government, in other words, would spend tens of billions of pounds on a weapons system whose use would necessarily mean tens of thousands of deaths and which exists for no reason other than to bolster British imperialism’s prestige and power to terrorise.

This week the government has proposed it will spend between £10 and £25 billion replacing Trident with a upgraded nuclear weapons system in the next decade. This in the same week that American government(the supplier of the Trident system and probably its replacement) along with the British Government denounced the North Koreas development of a ICBM capable of hitting California with a Nuclear payload. This Hipocrocy is also highlighted by the hints that have been dropped by the pentagon that America could use nuclear weapons against Iran to stop them developing nuclear weapons. This all means the issue of nuclear weapons should once more be a major part of the left's struggle.

According to today's news Jack Straw has said Iran is pushing its luck in declaring that it intends to restart its nuclear programme. If last night's More 4 programme "Why We Went to War" is to be believed then Iran was probably always next in line to be "democratised" after Iraq as part of Bush's plans to liberate people living udner the axis of evil. Certainly the US has been more vocal in its sabre rattling against Iran than Europe including Britain over recent months, but that is no doubt due to the US government's belief that it can do almost anything it wants whereas Blair's government, especially after Iraq, is constrained by domestic politics.

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