Lancaster City Council will call on government to join nuclear weapons ban

The motion was brought to council by Green Councillor Mandy Bannon, who represents Marsh ward.

South Lakeland and Lancaster District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), has praised the council for its decision.

The motion brought to council was in response to a global campaign organised by the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.

Its remit has been to ask local authorities in the countries that have not yet signed the Treaty, to write to their respective governments, urging them to sign it.

Lancaster will join 16 other UK councils who already support the ICAN campaign including Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh, Oxford, Norwich, and several authorities in London and Scotland.

Coun Bannon said: “I am delighted that councillors supported this call.

"The United Nations Treaty makes the proliferation of nuclear weapons illegal under international law.

"But the UK is one of nine nuclear armed countries who have not yet engaged with the Treaty.

"And the Treaty does not legally bind states that have not signed it.

“This motion is a great opportunity for Lancaster to send a strong message to the UK Government – to say that we want out of the nuclear arms race which remains a real threat to human civilisation and the planet.

"Since the end of the cold war, we may think that the nuclear risk has gone away.

"But it hasn’t.

"There’s an estimated 13 thousand warheads spread across the world, with a global annual spend of over £52bn.

"215 warheads are thought to be in the UK costing us over £5bn a year.

“The deterrent argument is a false one and is outdated.

The presence of nuclear weapons is ridden with risk, creates a greater chance of accidents, and is costing us huge amounts of money.

"That money could be far better spent on meeting our real needs for health and security.

"Even if nuclear weapons are never used, their presence alone causes catastrophic harm to humans and environmental devastation in the places where they are tested.”

The motion was carried 28 for, 13 against and 11 abstentions.

As a result, Lancaster City Council's Chief Executive will write to the UK government and Secretaries of State to inform them that Lancaster City Council has endorsed the ICAN Cities Appeal to call for the government to sign the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

A third action point, asking Council officers to review divesting funds away from companies that produced nuclear weapons, was dropped in response to officers’ concerns about the time it would take staff to do this.

Coun Bannon added: "I hope that we can address this issue of the City Council investments in the nuclear arms industry in the future."

Philip Gilligan, from South Lakeland and Lancaster District CND, said: “CND is delighted to congratulate the City of Lancaster on its vote in favour of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which came into force on 22 January 2021.

"We also look forward to a time when the Council judges that it will be in a position to ensure that the funds it administers are not invested in companies that produce nuclear weapons and we urge other local councils to join Lancaster as soon as possible in calling on the Government to sign and ratify the United Nations Treaty.

"We all have the right to live in a world free from the threat posed by nuclear arsenals.

"Whether deliberate or accidental, any use of nuclear weapons would inevitably have catastrophic, far-reaching and long-lasting consequences for our planet and all those who inhabit it.

"Most countries in the world have already recognised the urgent need to prohibit participation in any nuclear weapon activities, including the development, testing, production, acquisition, possession, stockpiling, use or threatened use of nuclear weapons.

"It is dangerous and disgraceful that the UK Government still refuses to even discuss signing the Treaty.”