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‘Stop Trident’ Demo in London

February 27, 201612:51 pmSeptember 25, 2023 12:55 pmLeave a Comment

‘Stop Trident’ Demo in London

On Saturday 27th February there was a huge national demonstration to protest against the renewal of Britain’s nuclear weapons system: Trident.  The whole demo was organised by the CND (the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) and tens of thousands of people were estimated to have attended, making it Britain’s largest anti-nuclear weapons march in decades.  Protestors came from all over the UK – and beyond – to protest against the renewal of Britain’s submarine based nuclear deterrent.  They assembled at 12 noon at Marble Arch, London and marched to Trafalgar Square where there was a rally with contributions from many political and celebrity speakers, including Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, the First Minister for Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon and actress Joanna Lumley. Parliament is planning a vote later this year on whether to renew trident at a cost of over £100 billion.  Many people are opposed to this because of the mass scale of destruction and devastation that nuclear weapons can cause and because of the huge amount of money that nuclear weapons cost to upkeep.  Many people argue that there are much more important things that that amount of money could be spent on, such as more jobs, education, more homes and the NHS, especially in this time of austerity.

On Saturday 27th February there was a huge national demonstration to protest against the renewal of Britain’s nuclear weapons system: Trident.  The whole demo was organised by the CND (the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) and tens of thousands of people were estimated to have attended, making it Britain’s largest anti-nuclear weapons march in decades.  Protestors came from all over the UK – and beyond – to protest against the renewal of Britain’s submarine based nuclear deterrent.  They assembled at 12 noon at Marble Arch, London and marched to Trafalgar Square where there was a rally with contributions from many political and celebrity speakers, including Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, the First Minister for Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon and actress Joanna Lumley. Parliament is planning a vote later this year on whether to renew trident at a cost of over £100 billion.  Many people are opposed to this because of the mass scale of destruction and devastation that nuclear weapons can cause and because of the huge amount of money that nuclear weapons cost to upkeep.  Many people argue that there are much more important things that that amount of money could be spent on, such as more jobs, education, more homes and the NHS, especially in this time of austerity.

Thousands of people carried banners and placards with phrases such as: ‘JOBS NOT TRIDENT’, ‘HOMES NOT TRIDENT’ ‘NHS NOT TRIDENT’ and ‘CUT WAR NOT WELFARE’.   Four of the placards from the demo are now a part of the Peace Museum collection after they were kindly donated by one attendee. We have many other items in our collection relating to anti-nuclear weapons protests and campaigns.   Including, a permanent exhibit on Greenham Common and many objects relating to the CND.

Written by Ezra Kingston

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