Apart from a bright spark of hope in the victory of the Gaza motion, this year’s conference lacked vision and purpose — we need to urgently reconnect Labour with its roots rather than weakly aping the flag-waving right, argues KIM JOHNSON MP

THE editor of Peace News newspaper and author of the 1994 book Tactical Trident: The Rifkind Doctrine and the Third World, peace activist Milan Rai has recently written several articles about Britain’s nuclear arsenal.
Ian Sinclair: There is a consensus in Britain’s mainstream political culture — from the media to politicians to academia — that Britain’s nuclear weapons are primarily used for deterrence. What’s your take?
Milan Rai: For the general public in Britain, the idea of using nuclear weapons is so deeply horrifying, so taboo, that it is unthinkable. It isn’t unthinkable for the British military establishment.

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