Anne Main's Backing For Blair Helped Gordon Brown And Puts Nuclear Talks At Risk

9.00.00am GMT Tue 20th Mar 2007

Trident

Sandy Walkington, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for St Albans, has expressed his dismay that Anne Main voted last week with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to replace the Trident nuclear submarines.

94 Labour MPs agreed with the Liberal Democrats that there was no need to make this decision at this time and that it would send the wrong signals internationally. So the government only won the vote because the Conservatives voted with Mr Blair and Mr Brown.

"It is really disappointing that Anne Main voted with the Labour Government," said Sandy.

"There are crucial international talks coming up in 2010 that could lead to cuts in nuclear weapons throughout the world and stop countries developing their own weapons.

"Taking a decision now to replace the Trident submarines has sent all the wrong signals to other countries. If Britain is prepared to make the commitment to spend billions of pounds of taxpayers' money on a new nuclear weapon system now, it simply encourages countries such as Iran to press forward with their own weapon systems.

"Liberal Democrats voted against the government because we believe the decision to replace now could undermine the international talks. Once those talks have taken place we can see whether there is sufficient progress during the next decade towards nuclear disarmament to decide if Britain needs to continue as a nuclear armed country and what that may mean in terms of weapons systems.

"There is no need for the decision to have been taken at this stage. By voting now for replacement, Anne Main and David Cameron have put the disarmament talks at risk. They were helping Gordon Brown by getting this decision out of the way while Tony Blair is still Prime Minister.

"Yet again the Conservatives have jumped into bed with the Blair/Brown government and saved them from defeat, just as they did on the decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003. That is why the Liberal Democrats continue to be the real alternative in St Albans and across the country."

ENDS

For more information, please call Sandy Walkington on 07802 177317