Latest news from National CND

Posted: 1st September 2021

Hello CND Groups! I hope you’re all well.

It has been an eventful few weeks, not least with the withdrawal of British and US troops from Afghanistan — don’t miss Kate’s recent blog post. The pictures we have all seen recently cap off 20 years of brutality with utter incompetence and heartlessness. Something similar could be said about the government’s approach to the pandemic this summer, allowing the virus to run rampant through our communities.

Nurses not nukes: join our TUC fringe webinar

But while the pandemic continues to rage, the government is more interested in spending yet more money to increase the size of its nuclear arsenal than on supporting our health service. We cannot let this shocking decision stand, so please join us online at 12.30pm on Monday 13 September for our TUC fringe webinar, Nurses not Nukes: nuclear disarmament in the age of Covid-19.

We are delighted that joining Kate will be Dr John Puntis, co-chair of Keep our NHS Public; mental health nurse Rachel Ambrose, of Nurses United & Nurses of Colour Network; Declassified UK editor Mark Curtis; and PCS Policy Officer and CND Council member Sam Mason. For full details please see the page on our website.

Report the UK to the UN deadline: 1 November

The government’s decision is an international as well as a domestic disaster, which is why we are petitioning the president-designate of the upcoming NPT Review Conference. The deadline for this is 1 November — with one month to go, let’s give this a great big push!

DSEI arms fair

The world’s warmongers will soon be descending on east London for the DSEI arms fair — join us to give them the “welcome” they deserve. CND’s webinar on Tuesday 14 September will feature local Newham Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz, Cllr Lawrence Brown from Liverpool, arms-trade expert Andrew Feinstein and CND Vice-Chair Carol Turner.

And on Sunday 12 September, CND will be supporting our friends at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign as they demonstrate to demand our government and other stop arming Israel. Please see our website for more details, and keep an eye on our events page and groups mailings over the next couple of weeks for information about related events.

26 September demonstrations

There’s less than four weeks to go until the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, when CND members will be taking action at nuclear sites across Britain, as part of Nuke Free Europe’s month of action. Thank you to everyone who’s told us about your plans — see our website for the list — and if your event isn’t on there yet please do let us know!

Very best wishes,
Rob

Rob Wells
CND Office Manager
[email protected]