Press Release
Dear Editor,
WHY I WAS PROUD TO BE A LIBERAL DEMOCRAT LAST NIGHT
The vote on Trident was another defining moment in the House of Commons, and
made me proud to be a Liberal Democrat.
All 63 of our MPs voted against Blair’s decision to replace Trident nuclear
submarines seven years earlier than it was necessary for the decision to be
taken.
Dave Cameron and his Tories trooped through the lobbies with a lame duck Prime
Minister, just like he did for the war on Iraq. A leopard never changes its
spots, and nor does the Tory Party.
People should remember that it was in fact David Cameron and his Tories who
secured the vote for the disastrous and illegal war in Iraq, despite all his
hand wringing and protestations since. And he has now sent a signal to all those
states who want to acquire nuclear weapons. "Do as I say, not as I do."
This decision will have grave consequences for nuclear non-proliferation talks,
including the summit scheduled for 2010. Cameron and Blair have committed
Britain to a £65billion bill for cold war weaponry that we can never use.
Don't ever be fooled by the emotive argument that Britain would somehow have
been left naked without this decision. Ask Sweden, Germany, Canada, Australia
and Japan if they feel any less safe because they are not bristling with nuclear
weapons?
If I had been a Labour MP or a Conservative MP there is no way on this earth
that I would have voted with Blair last night.
Last weekend we held an NHS rally in Malvern and the Tories supported it.
We are still awaiting a new community hospital in Malvern after 30 years.
They should ask themselves how many hospitals you can build with £65billion, and
how much better health services could have been if we hadn't spent £5billion and
rising on the aftermath of an illegal war on Iraq leaving 150,000 Iraqis, 150
British servicemen and women and over 3000 Americans already dead?
Yours sincerely,
Richard Burt
Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate West Worcestershire
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