ANOTHER £640 MILLION SPENT AND STILL NO COMMONS VOTE
SNP Shadow Defence Team Member Martin Docherty-Hughes MP is calling on the UK Government to come clean on spending on Trident as it is reported that yet another £640 million is to be spent on renewal – without a single vote in the House of Commons.
The UK Government is determined to proceed with the project – which already has a total price tag of £167 billion – and plans to dump the nuclear arsenal on the Clyde for the next 50 years despite opposition from the Scottish Government, 57 of Scotland’s 59 MPS, churches, trades unions and civic society.
Martin Docherty-Hughes MP commented:
“These reports are shocking, but sadly all too believable. The UK Government has history on this, with over £4billion already spent on the next generation of Trident before a single vote has been cast at Westminster. A billion here, a billion there and another £640 million this week, it looks like the Tories are trying to renew this nuclear arsenal by stealth without going through the democratic scrutiny of the House of Commons.
Michael Fallon needs to come clean and tell MPs and the people of Scotland exactly how much public money has already been spent and how much more he intends to spend before MPs get a chance to vote on renewal.
The UK Government are pushing ahead, wasting hundreds of millions more of taxpayers money on preparing for these obscene and redundant weapons of mass murder. This comes the same week that the Chancellor is warning about more cuts on the way because his numbers don’t add up, and the endless Tory assault on welfare and pensions continues.
The SNP will vote against nuclear weapons at every opportunity, and in the interests of democracy, that opportunity must come soon.”
