Medact encourages members to use the upcoming General Election as an opportunity to raise awareness about the risk and devastating health impact of the use of nuclear weapons.
Tailored letters have been sent by Medact to leaders of all major political parties based on careful consideration of each party’s current position on nuclear weapons and disarmament.
Please send additional letters to candidates in your constituency urging them to work towards NW disarmament.
Note the current position of the main political parties in the UK.
| Conservative Party UK | In favour of renewing Trident.
Official party line allows for the “first use” of nuclear weapons. |
| Labour Party | While Labour remains officially in favour of replacing Trident, party leader Jeremy Corbyn is a long-standing opponent of nuclear weapons and there exists a significant internal split on the official party line. |
| Liberal Democrats | In favour of renewing Trident, but discontinuing continuous at-sea deterrence (CASD), and moving to three, rather than the planned four submarines. |
| Green Party | In favour of nuclear abolition |
| Scottish National Party | In favour of nuclear abolition |
| Plaid Cymru | In favour of nuclear abolition |
The following points can be cut and pasted into a letter:
- The use of nuclear weapons, many of which are vastly bigger and more damaging than the Hiroshima bomb, will have a devastating health impact. The ability to respond to anyone who survives the immediate effects of a nuclear detonation will also be limited by the destruction and crippling of medical facilities.
- Well-validated scientific studies have also shown that a limited exchange of nuclear weapons would create a massive amount of atmospheric debris, which would damage food supplies across the whole globe. Such a Nuclear Winter scenario would result in mass starvation, potentially affecting as many as 2 billion people.
- Nuclear weapons possession leaves the UK more vulnerable to harm and attack, and fails to address the real threats facing national and human security.
- Deterrence is a policy that will ultimately fail to prevent a catastrophic nuclear event, if only as a result of misunderstanding or error.
The United Nations General Assembly’s has passed a resolution to start negotiations towards a nuclear weapon ban treaty. Such a treaty would make nuclear weapons illegal, in line with present international laws banning landmines, chemical weapons and biological warfare. - The “first use policy” increases the level of risk of nuclear war.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
