Gloucestershire Quakers in dialogue with candidates
Gloucestershire Friends sent out a survey to general election candidates in the county
A survey sent out by Friends to general election candidates across Gloucestershire elicited some unexpected responses.
Candidates from four of the five political parties running for election in the county refused to reject out of hand the possibility of a link between the UK’s investment in armaments and current levels of violence around the world. Only the Green Party representatives saw a clear link. One candidate argued that ‘it is people, not armaments that cause violence’.
Friends asked candidates to justify defence spending in a time of cuts. Conservative and UKIP candidates highlighted the relative smallness of UK spend on defence compared to that of the US. The renewal of Trident prompted a range of responses, with a Labour representative stressing the potential difficulty of finding alternative employment in a county currently reliant on building armaments.
‘To us politics is not just for politicians, and not only about the election. We want to be in active dialogue with candidates about topics that matter to social justice and a peaceful world,’ said Cheltenham Friend Alison Crane.
