the profiteering nuclear arms manufacturers must be good at bribing in Britain

An example of bad faith. Britain has signed the non-proliferation treaty but is blatently ignoring it. The tragedy is that it is a supposed left of centre government.

Yeah..also that ANY nation in the 21st century needs nuclear weapons...The USA needs to take some REAL leadership in this--Let's hope that Obama is up to the challenges. I'm not optimistic given his policy on a big military budget.

The centre of UK and western politics in general is somewhere to the far right of Genghis Khan.

I don't think there is bribery involved in the decision to maintain nuclear weapons papanook. We British find it difficult to face the fact of our true position in the world, that is no longer a big hitter. And nuclear weapons substitute for the power of wealth. It is difficult for politicians to make the case for a non-nuclear defence. Longy once New Zealand's prime minister did a very good job of putting the case and was successful in maintaining a nuclear-free Australasia.

My memory failed me there. The man was David Lange. He spoke brilliantly to the Oxford Union in 1985 to the motion that 'Nuclear weapons are morally indefensible'. The speech can be found here and is a brilliant exposition of the argument.
http://publicaddress.net/default,1578.sm#post

Thanks, jimbo...the bribery remark was a throwaway--just to say that someone always profits from these obscene weapons...