War, what is it good for? So asked The Temptations about Vietnam. But now a maverick independent peer appears to be answering that question quite seriously. As Westminster works itself into a frenzy over possible conflict with Russia, Lord Truscott – a non-affiliated member of the Upper House – has used the subject to ask the British government for its stance on nuclear oblivion. For Truscott, who was one of the first peers suspended from the House of Lords since the 17th century, has raised eyebrows with his latest inquiries to defence minister Baroness Goldie. The former MEP recently tabled the following question:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Goldie on 29 November, what are their reasons for believing that a thermonuclear war with Russia would be an “unwelcome outcome.”
Dr Strangelove, eat your heart out. An unimpressed Goldie replied that:
It is difficult to envisage any scenario in which war, whether accidental, thermonuclear or otherwise, and irrespective of which other parties may be involved, would be a welcome outcome.
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