Campaigners promote Stop Trident public meeting

Mark Hollindrake, Sam O'Brien, Alan Ashworth, Philip Gilligan and Pat Sanchez

Local campaigners had a rather damp time on Yorkshire Street on Saturday morning (6 February 2016), but remained keen to encourage people to attend the Stop Trident public meeting to be held at 7.30pm on Tuesday 9 February 2016.

The meeting has been called by Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group, Rochdale Green Party and Momentum Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton and will be addressed by Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party. The meeting will be chaired by Revd Mark Coleman, Vicar of Rochdale.

Philip Gilligan from the Peace Group said: “Trident weapons of mass destruction are increasingly in the news and we are keen to let people know why we want them scrapped.

"Parliament is likely to vote on the issue of so-called ‘Trident renewal’ within the next few months. The Labour Party is reviewing its position.

"The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) supported by a wide range of other organisations, including Greenpeace, Pax Christi and the Muslim Association of Britain has called a national demonstration on Saturday 27 February 2016.

"The chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, has estimated that the total cost of the proposed renewed Trident system would be as much as £167billlion.

"Many of us are already convinced that the existing Trident system needs to be scrapped and that plans for its so-called ‘renewal’ must be stopped. We are keen to explain our views to others and hope that many people will join us and Natalie at 7.30pm at St Chad’s on 9 February 2016.”