“It is time political leaders pulled back from the nuclear brink. That’s why CND and Stop the War have called an emergency day of action on Saturday 7 December”
Sophie Bolt, CND General Secretary
Yesterday’s launch of the Government’s Defence Industrial Strategy by Defence Secretary, John Healey, stated ‘National security is the foundation for growth’. Sophie Bolt, General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, argues that whilst Healey presents this strategy as a response to a much more unstable and insecure world, Britain is playing a central role in driving this very instability.
We are seeing this in the Middle East, where Britain’s active military engagement through surveillance flights from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to its failure to ban arms exports makes it complicit in the genocide being carried out against the Palestinian people.
In Ukraine the reckless decision to allow Ukraine to fire US and British long-range missiles into Russia has precipitated a rapid and dangerous escalation. These missiles can only be targeted using US GPS technology, which means that the US is decisively participating in the conflict. Biden had previously refused to grant permission for the use of these weapons precisely because it could draw NATO into an all-out confrontation with Russia.
Since then, Russia has ratified the change of its nuclear use policy to respond to such conventional attacks by non-nuclear states, backed by nuclear states. And it fired an inter-mediate range, hypersonic missile, the Oreshnik.
Starmer’s government has continued with aggressive rhetoric with the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, arguing that ‘If the British Army was asked to fight tonight, it would fight tonight’, further increasing tensions with Russia.
And Starmer continues the mantra that Britain will support and arm Ukraine ‘for as long as it takes.’
Yet military experts and diplomats across the political spectrum – including in Ukraine – have made clear that the use of these long-range weapons will not make a decisive difference to the outcome of the war. Reports show that Ukraine has lost 40% of the territory it had gained in its offensive in Kursk in the summer.
And this escalation is totally counter to majority public opinion in Ukraine who want an urgent end to this war through peace talks. Across Western Europe, very large majorities also want an end to the suffering through a negotiated settlement.
It is time political leaders pulled back from the nuclear brink. That’s why CND and Stop the War have called an emergency day of action on Saturday 7 December. Actions are taking place across the country on Saturday, including the protest in London at 2.30pm opposite Downing Street.
Join these critical actions calling for the British government to end this reckless escalation, withdraw the Storm Shadow missiles from Ukraine and use its influence to secure a negotiated settlement.
- You can find more details about the day of action on 7 December here.
- Sophie Bolt is the General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). You can follow her on Twitter/X and follow the CND on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.
