IN last week’s Courier (February 19) Charlie Werner of Sandford wrote - persuasively in my view - in favour of scrapping Britain’s (so-called “independent”) Trident nuclear missile system, the modernising of which will cost at least £100 billion (remember all Charlie’s zeroes?)

Since we can’t actually fire it without killing millions of people, including ourselves in retaliation, and destroying life on our planet “our fragile island home” as we know and love it, I agree with the widely-held opinion that Britain’s only reason for having and threatening with Trident is that it seems to make us believe that we can “punch above our weight” in international negotiations.

Is having this supposed diplomatic “clout” which major countries like Germany and Japan don’t seem to think they need, worth sacrificing some of the desperately needed benefits which saving £100 billion could help pay for in Britain? Here are some of them:

We could fully fund all A and E hospitals for 40 years; employ 150,000 more nurses; invest in green spending creating two million new jobs, including absorbing those “wasted” in the nuclear arms industry; build 1.5 million new and affordable houses; shelter and help rehabilitate all homeless people; cover tuition fees for four million students; build 2,000 new primary schools every year; save £800 on everyone’s energy bills/build 100,000 wind turbines (offshore?); end fuel poverty and reliance on dangerous and unstable energy-supplying countries; better finance our police and conventionally-armed military services and we could get our school lollipop patrols back!

I could go on and on, and so could you! So, if you’re among the latest poll’s 69 per cent who did not express support for Britain replacing its nuclear weapons, sign the online petition on: www.cnduk.org ; tell Mel Stride MP; if like me, you’re a praying spiritual person, get going; and if possible, join Pat Barker, Linda Lever, me and others at St Lawrence Green in Crediton tomorrow, Saturday, February 27, at 10.45am for a local demo.

As Charlie says, let’s make of ourselves a civilised society!

Charles Edwards

Higher Road

Crediton