REDBRIDGE: Charity says residents opposed to new nuclear weapons (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

REDBRIDGE: Charity says residents opposed to new nuclear weapons

12:19pm Wednesday 28th April 2010 in Redbridge News By James Ranger

THE PEOPLE of the borough are overwhelming in favour of nuclear disarmament, according to an environmental charity

Residents were asked by members of the local branch of environment charity Greenpeace whether they thought the government should spend almost £100 billion on new nuclear weapons.

This has become a hot topic in the general election campaign, with both Labour and the Tories in favour replacing the current nuclear weapons, while the Liberal Democrats have opposed it.

The charity said the results of the survey demonstrate that there is a groundswell of opinion in favour of supporting public services instead of defence spending.

Steve Pullum, a Greenpeace volunteer who took part in the polling, said: “Both local and national polls show the view of the public is clear. When faced with a massive national debt the last thing they think the next government should be doing is wasting £97 billion on building new nuclear weapons.

“What people on the street care about is the security of their essential services, like schools and keeping King George's Hospital fully open.

“We need investment in the low-carbon economy, both to stop climate change and to give us energy security. £97 billion could really give our green industries a boost.

“We need our local candidates to make sure that their parties hear this message and commit to including the plan to replace Trident in the upcoming Strategic Defence Review.”

A total of 80 people outside the The Mall in Ilford were asked on March 26 whether they thought the government should spent £97 billion on nuclear weapons, with 76 answering 'no'.