Candidates' policies 2010
The five Labour leadership candidates were asked about their positions on arms trade matters.
Diane Abbott
"The idea of ending the subsidy and support the Government gives the arms industry is one to which I give full approval. I believe the UK Trade &Investment's Defence & Security Organisation, the Government's arms export promotion unit, should be shut and made inaccessible. In doing so, the credit cover used to export military goods can be stopped and used instead to invest in more urgent public issues such as energy technologies. It is my view also that private military and security companies should be subjected to licensing requirements if they wish to train, advise or even participate in combat operations." Letter 10 August 2010
Contact: diane4leader(at)hotmail·co·uk.
Ed Balls
No response has yet been received.
Contact: ed(at)edballs·com.
Andy Burnham
On UKTI DSO: "It is the Government’s moral and economic duty to ensure that the work of the Defence and Security Group not only performs well for the tax payer, but also poses no risk to health and security at home and abroad. This is an imperative. Make no mistake, I would be greatly concerned if the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review opted to maintain the Group in a way that put the safety and welfare of citizens in the UK and overseas in jeopardy. As part of my efforts to open up policy making in the party, I would welcome people’s thoughts on the key questions of whether and how the Group should carry out its work.
On the other questions: "As I have promised to give members a greater say on party policy, I cannot say with certainty that I would implement these ideas, despite the fact that I have some sympathy towards them. When I released my manifesto this week, I said that I would lead a Labour Party based on five fundamental values – to be: redistributive, collectivist, aspirational, sustainable and internationalist. These ideas are seemingly compatible, but I really want the Party to be given the opportunity to genuinely and collectively debate these ideas along with many others.
CAAT rightly brought attention to the tragic loss of two members of the PMSC ArmorGroup, for instance, and I really think the Party should be able to discuss cases like this. I have proposed a way to directly link all party members to the meetings of the shadow cabinet – I just hope that the party gives me the opportunity to put this idea into practice."
Contact: teamandy(at)andy4leader·com.
David Miliband
"As Foreign Secretary, David helped win United Nations support for an arms trade treaty to establish minimum standards on all conventional arms sales. Thousands of people, including hundreds of UN peacekeepers, die every year because this trade is not properly regulated. The next round of negotiations started on 12 July.
He is concerned that the Coalition agreement appears to dilute this commitment to a partial restriction to sales "to dangerous regimes", rather than a global standard, which is what the Treaty should provide.
David was at the forefront of implementing a Cluster Munitions Ban; Britain is one of the 32 countries who have ratified this progressive measure. As a result, America will now have to remove their stockpile of cluster munitions from British soil.
David also wants to work toward a world free of nuclear weapons - with Britain playing a leading role in promoting multilateral nuclear disarmament. As a country we want to be at the heart of discussions on multilateral disarmament and in this vain have been on target with reducing our defence to a minimal deterrent. Among the recognised nuclear weapon states we already have the smallest stockpile and we are also the only nation to have reduced to a single deterrent system." Email 6 August 2010
Contact: policy(at)davidmiliband·net.
It has been reported that David Miliband has received a donation from lobbyist Anthony Bailey, whose clients include arms company BAE Systems. You can read more here.
Ed Miliband
No response has yet been received.
Contact: contact(at)edmiliband·org.
CAAT's main Westminster and Whitehall page can be found here.
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