Today we see the first opportunistic act from our new Prime Minister – albeit one long planned by her predecessor. MPs will spend hours in Parliament today – at this time of national crisis – vote on renewing Trident nuclear weapons.
For Theresa May these are the ultimate weapons of mass distraction.
Rather than discussing how Britain – and our public services – will cope in the post-Brexit climate, the government is bringing forward an unnecessary vote on Trident renewal. This is not about military capability. This is about causing maximum division in the Labour Party.
The Prime Minister should be ashamed of using such matters as a political pawn.
When it comes to Trident the position of our union has always been clear.
This union will never – ever – support renewing Trident nuclear weapons at a time when public services are under such huge strain. And in the aftermath of the recent referendum our economy is already under pressure.
What the British economy needs now is real investment in our public services – not years of cuts, and certainly not a nuclear weapons system designed for the Cold War era.
If there are tens of billions of pounds available for the government to spend, then let’s invest it in our schools, hospitals and social care system. Let’s give public sector workers the pay rise they all deserve – and boost the economy at the same time. But let’s stop accepting the argument that there’s always more money for bombs we hope will never be used, but never enough money for decent pay, decent jobs and decent services.