nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

We spend billions on nuclear weapons. Let’s fund the NHS instead

We spend billions on nuclear weapons. Let’s fund the NHS instead, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/10/we-spend-billions-on-nuclear-weapons-lets-fund-the-nhs-instead  The Covid-19 pandemic highlights the folly of spending billions on nuclear warheads at the expense of a robust health service, write two former naval commanders, while Bruce Kent describes it as ‘theft from the NHS’George Monbiot points out that the UK dismissed early warnings about coronavirus, spending billions on the arms industry while ignoring real threats (What does ‘national defence’ mean in a pandemic? It’s no time to buy fighter jets, Journal, 8 April). This Covid-19 crisis focuses our minds on where priorities really lie; the NHS will undoubtedly emerge as a frontrunner.

We need to spend on “national defence” because that is a prime responsibility of government, but it should be commensurate with our national income and with the real threats facing our nation.

In that light, one has to question whether spending between £2bn and £3bn per year (actual government figures are hard to come by) on maintaining a Trident submarine on constant nuclear deterrent patrol at sea – when the missiles are not targeted and have been at “several days’ notice to fire” for over 20 years for lack of any perceived nuclear threat – is now a proper use of our rapidly vanishing national financial resources.

This is on top of some £60bn-plus to replace the submarines, their missiles and other assorted costs associated with Trident.
Cmdr Robert Forsyth RN (Ret’d)
Former executive officer of a Polaris submarine and nuclear submarine commanding officer
Cmdr Robert Green RN (Ret’d)

Former Fleet Air Arm nuclear-armed aircraft bombardier-navigator 

April 11, 2020 - Posted by | general

No comments yet.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

« Previous | Next »