NIck Clegg and CND

For reasons best known to itself, the Guardian now lets Zoe Williams write on politics. In this morning's paper, writing in praise of demonstrations, she said:

a person like Nick Clegg would probably never discuss axing Trident were it not for CND marches.

This is the exact reverse of the truth. A smooth Eurocrat like our Nick has no emotional attachment to an independent British nuclear deterrent and would save all those billions by getting rid of it if he could.

But, as the televised leaders' debates showed, it is very hard to make this case without identifying yourself with the moral absolutism of CND and being seen as cavalier about Britain's defence.

Far from making the likes of Nick Clegg discuss axing trident, CND marches have made it far harder for them to do so.

Personal declaration: I was never a CND member but did end up carrying the Richmond branch's banner on the first of the two great London demonstrations in the early 1980s. That felt very Liberal.