Delegates from across the country flocked to London's City Hall from 13-14 October for this year's CND AGM, to update the campaign's objectives and learn something new whilst at it.
The usual policy debates - with very little debate - took their course in the mornings. (There were major debates over two amendments relating to nuclear power and peace education.)
Scotland
Dr Alan Mackinnon, Scottish CND chair, spoke just after noon, describing the year's successes in Scotland: “It seems to me that if we can get [nuclear weapons] out of Scotland, they can be killed as a whole.”
Mackinnon explained that there are few sites that meet the needs of a nuclear base - which are a lot of empty acres near water. Devonport would be one obvious choice, he said, but it is a city and considering the dangers “will have enormous backlash.”
On Sunday, Arielle Denis, co-chair of the Mouvement de la Paix, talked of US “missile defence”, and was asked whether France would be a party to an attack on Iran. “Our new government is much friendlier with the Bush administration,” she answered. “But I can assure you the public opinion is against it.”
The Tory question
Lobbying MPs, including the Tories, was another major topic. Jeremy Corbyn MP pointed out that some Tories question whether nuclear weapons are an appropriate defence system for Britain.
“We have to consider how we approach the Tories without sacrificing our position,” he said.