House of Lords Non-proliferation event

Yesterday I went along to a nuclear non-proliferation event at the House of Lords. The Houses of Parliament are so impressive - once you've told policemen why you're there, gone through security, and been given an identity card to put round your neck - it's possible to wander through most areas, browsing at the huge paintings, statues and halls dating back hundreds of years.

You can stand in the central lobby of parliament, watching MPs, Lords and various staff walk from place to place. I even managed to see Gordon Brown (though he was in the back of a car while I waited to cross the road).

Yes, Parliament is an impressive place. I'm pleased it's open enough to be used for public meetings. The Nuclear Disarmament conference was open to the public and there were a good number of people there - quite a few young people too : )

A number of speakers talked about different aspects of non-proliferation. Lord Hannay (former UK ambassador to the UN) clearly laid out the prospects for success at the non-proliferation treaty review conference - due to be held next year. Other speakers including the Russian ambassador and a BBC journalist, were similarly optimistic about the coming years. Everyone agreed that Obama's change of policy was a massive step forward and that the Bush administration had been holding non-proliferation agreements back (In 2005 the nuclear review conference couldn't even agree an agenda!).

In the question and answer session I built up enough courage to ask the panel whether they think the issue of nuclear non-proliferation is being well presented to young people and the general public. And also, ideas for improving public awareness.

All of the panel agreed that the issue wasn't being presented well enough. Lord Hannay said that it's really important to use simple language - the debate is too full of jargon, when it's actually a pretty simple issue. The BBC journalist said that the reason we don't see a quality debate in the media is that no-one is making the case for keeping nuclear weapons.

Later, the panelists spoke about how ordinary people had an important role in bringing nuclear disarmament. They all said writing letters to your MP really helps. It would be great to organise a big letter writing campaign - like Amnesty International. I've been working on a sheet with tips on how to write a good letter to your MP - I'll put it up here when it's done.

I enjoyed the conference and was encouraged by what the speakers had to say. They were all very pleased by young people being involved and very keen that more people find out about the issue. Let's hope the STOP THE SPREAD campaign can help.