Stop British Trident nuclear weapons, now

This video from London, England says about itself:

Commons lobby filled with ActionAWE singers objecting to Trident. IN FULL

News release – 11 March 2015

Commons lobby filled with singers objecting to Trident

MPs have been taken by surprise by about twenty people who entered the lobby of the House of Commons this morning and performed an oratorio called Trident is a War Crime. They are calling on MPs not to support “state terrorism” through nuclear weapons.

They say they have turned to singing because so many MPs are failing to listen to the public, as polls consistently show a majority of the public are against renewing the Trident nuclear weapons system. The protest comes shortly ahead of this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions, due in the Commons at noon today.

The singing protest is the latest sign of increasingly vocal opposition to Trident as the general election approaches.

Government is slashing funding to public services to fund new nuclear weapons in advance of the formal decision to renew Trident next year.

The oratorio was written by the composer Camilla Cancantata, who has endorsed today’s protest.

The singers, who are from various parts of Wales and England, are members of Action AWE. Many of them were involved in last week’s peaceful blockade of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), which is based at Aldermaston and Burghfield in Berkshire.

Angie Zelter, co-founder of Action AWE, who lives in the Brecon & Radnor constituency, said:

“MPs do not seem to understand the moral and legal consequences of threatening mass destruction with nuclear weapons. They have lost their humanity and moral integrity. We are hoping that by hearing this powerful and moving oratorio, they will be moved in their hearts. We are singing about life and death.”

The composter of the oratorio, Camilla Cancantata, said:

“This piece is not meant to be a passive listening experience. It was not written for a concert hall audience who listen, applaud and then go away and forget. The words and music are meant to engage and challenge the people in our society who have the constitutional power to ensure Britain upholds international law and abandons all nuclear weapons. We are using song rather than spoken word because we want to give the words weight, urgency and emotional resonance.”

By Luke James in Britain:

Candidates unite against Trident cash

Thursday 26th March 2015

CND find 81% of candidates are against renewal

THE next generation of Labour MPs will pose a serious challenge to their party’s support for Trident renewal, prominent candidate Catherine West predicted yesterday.

Labour’s Hornsey and Wood Green candidate, who is set to unseat Lib Dem minister Lynne Featherstone, is among a majority of would-be MPs opposed to Trident.

A massive 81 per cent of candidates from all parties have pledged to vote against spending £100 billion on Trident in 2016, according to results of a CND survey released yesterday.

Exactly 80 per cent of Labour candidates in target seats support disarmament.

And Ms West said she and dozens more anti-nuclear Labour candidates are ready to take a “more determined stance” over nuclear weapons if they are elected in 42 days’ time.

“I think we’re in a unique position at the moment because there’s a lot more support for getting rid of Trident than people think,” she said.

“We have chronic levels of inequality and people are wanting us to address that.” She added: “Now more than ever people are crying out for a courageous government. So I’m confident we can win the argument on Trident.”

Ms West, former leader of Islington Council, was speaking to the Star at the launch of CND’s Vote Out Trident manifesto in Parliament.

She was among candidates and MPs from five parties who, in a rare display of unity so close to an election, put aside differences to stand together against Trident.

Green leader Natalie Bennett, Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn, Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards, Lib Dem candidate Kelly-Marie Blundell and SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson also spoke.

Mr Robertson said a hung Parliament could help anti-nuclear MPs stop the next government forcing through Trident renewal.

“No one political party is likely to have a majority,” he said. “So it’s entirely possible the SNP, Plaid and the Greens will hold the balance of power.

Part of the influence and power we would exercise is to choose to spend £100bn more wisely.”

CND parliamentary group chair Jeremy Corbyn said a “very tight and confused” situation would require “the utmost assertion across parties of people who are opposed to the replacement of nuclear weapons.”