Since then, it is true, things have become rather more muddied, with Chris's position sounding less innovative than it once did. But I retain my view that Huhne's position:
is forward-looking, acknowledges the national interest and lacks the faint aroma of hand-woven yoghurt that traditional Liberal policies sometimes have.Not everyone agrees. Linda Jack - sounding a little like Millennium Elephant on speed - writes:
I will say it loud and clear, THOSE OF US WHO OPPOSE TRIDENT DON'T DO SO BECAUSE IT COSTS A LOT OF MONEY. WE DO IT BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IT IS MORALLY WRONG. WE DON'T LIKE CHEAPER SON OF TRIDENT EITHER.........BECAUSE THAT IS MORALLY WRONG TOO. GET IT???I do find it extraordinary that Linda should be so angry that someone agrees with her to some extent. Surely the art of politics is drawing support from a wide variety of people? And those people, no doubt, will have their own idiosyncratic reasons for agreeing with you. You should not try to force them away if their reasons are not the same as yours.
Nor do I think that Linda can speak for "those of us who oppose Trident". My reasons for opposing it have always been closer to Chris Huhne's than to hers, and I am sure I am not the only one who can say this.
Incidentally, more than one person has taken my praise for Chris Huhne's policy on Trident as a declaration of my support for him in the leadership contest. Not so: I just like this particular policy.
The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
ReplyDeleteJonathan, Millenium Elephant on speed..I like that one!
ReplyDeleteWhat I am angry about is the misleading way Chris is playing this. His objection to Trident appears to be on cost grounds, of course that is also an important argument, but for those of us whose objection is moral (and I apologise for the ambiguous phrasing) to suggest a Son of Trident is out of the question. I suppose what I really object to is Chris's dogwhistle attempt to appeal to a certain section of the party whilst, to my mind, trying to appear to be a uniltateralist (even having the No New Trident banner on his site) whilst really being a multilateralist. Furthermore his position doesn't stand up to scrutiny in that any new system would breach the NNPT and international law!
I promise to lay off the speed in future!!!!
Linda
There isn't a candidate who is morally opposed to the UK's possession of nuclear weapons.
ReplyDeleteThe next best thing is to vote for a candidate who is proposing to spend less, and whose rhetoric is more likely to lead the Liberal Democrats to a more sensible non-nulcear policy.
That person is Chris Huhne, and not Nick Clegg.