Green Party pledges to dismantle nuclear weapons and continue support for Ukraine

The Green Party has pledged to dismantle the UK's nuclear weapon stockpile in its general election manifesto.

Co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay said they would "mend a broken Britain", with the party running on the slogan 'Real Hope, Real Change'.

The manifesto outlined that "most of the world's countries do not possess weapons of mass destruction and are safer as a result".

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While nuclear weapons were addressed, there was no mention of a pledge to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence like other parties, but although the manifesto was fairly light on military policy it did set out some significant changes.

Nuclear weapons

Part of the Green Party's manifesto is to push for the UK to sign the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

This would then allow it to "immediately begin the process of dismantling our nuclear weapons".

This would see the Trident programme cancelled and all foreign nuclear weapons removed from Britain.

Answering a question at the manifesto's launch, Mr Ramsay said, when speaking on dismantling the nuclear detterent, "many with military history have claimed it's not effective spend".

He argued that it would be better to spend the money on personnel instead.

Nato and Ukraine

In the manifesto, the Green Party said it recognised the importance of Nato in ensuring its members can respond to threats.

It also said it supported international solidarity, but did not think Nato was perfect, in fact "far from it".

The party said it would work with the alliance for a greater focus to be placed on global peacekeeping and reform the way Nato operates.

This would include a commitment to a 'No First Use' on nuclear weapons, diplomacy and co-operation coming before military action, and the alliance acting solely "in defence of member states". 

The manifesto also outlined the Green Party's intention to continue supporting Ukraine to resist the Russian invasion and see the UK take the lead in ensuring the right to self-determination and enforcing international law.

Gaza

While detail on how the Green Party would support Ukraine was fairly light, the manifesto included more information on how it would approach the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Green Party said it condemned the "appalling murder of hundreds of Israeli civilians by Hamas".

The party added that it had since "watched in horror as Israeli forces have committed war crimes that have caused the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians".

It pledged to push for an immediate, bilateral ceasefire, end arms sales to Israel, redouble efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas and seek an urgent international effort to end the "illegal occupation of Palestinian land".

The party also said it would search for a political solution to the conflict that ensured security and equal rights for both Israelis and Palestinians.