Contrary to Michael McGough (Letters, November 19), John Major is right. The UK is not a superpower, with or without nuclear weapons.
But why should we, or anyone, wish to be a superpower? The vast majority of the world's states have no such desire, and many of them are happier and more peaceful as a result.
Read more: Nuclear deterrent must be retained
Costa Rica not only does not have nuclear weapons, but does not even have an army. Yet it is very influential on the world stage. For example, it supplied the Chair of the UN General Assembly Conference in 2017 that drafted and voted for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that Nigel Norman referred to (Letters, November 12), and which will come into force in January.
Rather than unknown global threats, we are faced with known and very real current threats, including Covid-19 pandemic and climate crisis, for which nuclear weapons (and other means of death and destruction) are no defence whatsoever.
Frank Jackson,
Former co-chair, World Disarmament Campaign
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