Nuclear Weapons

Dear constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

The TPNW is a significant diplomatic development and an important milestone. The UK Government should consider how the TPNW can provide new impetus towards multilateral nuclear disarmament.

I am committed to the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons, in line with our obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), through multilateral disarmament negotiated using a step-by-step approach under the NPT.

The UK has been a leader before in global efforts to promote disarmament. We signed the NPT in 1968, we signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and phased out tactical nuclear weapons in 1998 and over two decades we have reduced the stockpile of nuclear warheads we hold by over 65 per cent.

As one of the five nuclear weapons states under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Britain has a special responsibility to support non-proliferation and disarmament efforts.

The Government should now use its position as an UN P5 member to convene as a nuclear forum to discuss the next generation of arms control, both nuclear and emerging technologies in cyber and space, ahead of this year’s five-year review conference of the 190-state nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

I will continue to press for the UK to be leading multilateral efforts with international partners to create a nuclear-free world.

Yours sincerely

Peter Dowd