JOYCE JOINS CALLS FOR TRIDENT REVIEW WITH CHALLENGE TO LABOUR

JOYCE JOINS CALLS FOR TRIDENT REVIEW WITH CHALLENGE TO LABOUR

The SNP has welcomed calls by a Labour MP, and former Defence aide,
Eric Joyce for Labour to rethink it's stance on the replacement for
the UK's Trident nuclear deterrent, saying the current policy is
"flawed."

Writing on his blog, Mr Joyce said the decision to leave Trident out
of the strategic defence review - which is also the policy of the
coalition government – is “inexplicable” and that the party was
operating under the assumption that if it was to call for Trident to
be included in the defence review, the public would assume it had
“returned to the desperate days of the 1980s.”

SNP Westminster leader and Defence spokesperson, Angus Robertson MP, said:

“Labour may still be fighting political battles of the 1980s, but the
Cold War is long over and the future of Trident should be considered
the context, today, of a changed world with different threats and
defence priorities.

“However uncomfortable it is for Labour, Eric Joyce is right to put
this on the agenda, particularly during the leadership contest. The
Milibands, Balls and Burnham have been keen to separate themselves
from many of the actions of Labour in Government, despite their
cabinet roles, so what do they now think of spending £100 billion on
nuclear weapons while cutting spending on public services.

“A strategic defence review is necessary to prioritise our defence
needs in a changed world, but you cannot have a meaningful debate
about that if you start by excluding the future of the Trident
programme.

“Our view remains that it should be scrapped and more so, at a time
when public spending faces savage cuts across the board, the time has
come to accept that Trident can no longer be treated as some sacred
cow.”