The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament campaigns to scrap nuclear weapons and create genuine security for future generations. ELLIOT BRADLEY found out how the East Lancashire branch is faring

“IN the old days, every small town had its own CND?group.”

Joan?West?fondly?remembers the heyday of?the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, when?its?membership?once reached?100,000 people.

In its quest for the global abolition of nuclear weapons, CND grabbed attention during growing international tension in the 1980s.

But as the group celebrates its 60th?anniversary this year, its membership has dropped to just 15,000 — half of what it was.?

Mrs West, a founding member of the East Lancashire branch of CND, said:?“To have enough people to actually start a group here we had to start in this very large area, so we only really just keep going.

“We don’t have a large membership.”?

Membership problems nationally for the organisation are reflected on a local level, and East Lancashire has about 50 active members.

But the founding of Mrs West’s group came in difficult times.

She said: “We started up after CND reached a low point?really. The?folk at the national office in London were having a drive to try and?start up some local groups that had faded?away over the years.?

“Michael Hindley, a former Lancashire MEP, took it upon himself to set up the group and we took it from there.?Several of the people who got together at the time are still involved. But our numbers haven’t grown as we’d hoped.”?

In?1985, the group claimed its peak?national?membership of 110,000 members. But Jane?Wood, 67, a member for the past seven years,?believes?the international situation had a crucial role in those numbers.

She said: “Back then there?was?the Cold War and people?could still?remember the horrors of the Second World War, and I think people were just more aware. Young people don’t seem to learn about it at school, as we feel they should.”?

Encouraging youth involvement?seems to be one of the?main difficulties?the East Lancashire branch faces in 2018.

Mrs Wood says this is?despite the fact Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who won 66 per cent?of 18?to?19-year-olds’ votes in?last year’s?General?Election,?is?a CND member.?

She said: “We’ve tried to have stalls outside the college in Burnley and we have had some positive responses from people there. But I think we need to do more with social media now to?raise awareness.

“We’re struggling?to?get the social media aspect out there and we don’t seem to be hitting the spot in terms of getting our message out there wider,” said Mrs West, a former social worker.?

But the?East Lancashire ire?group’s?chairman,?Dave Penney, 78, understands?this lack of youth activism.?Mr Penney, a retired priest, said: “I think people are struggling to survive in society and so are having to work more hours and try and pursue a career so they don’t have the time to get involved in wider issues.

“But I do think that it’s starting to dawn on young people that the?whole system we have in this country is not beneficial to young people. That’s why the vast number of them support Labour now.”?

Despite their difficulties, the East Lancashire branch’s passion for activism has yet to be diminished.?In?November, the group celebrated its 10th?anniversary?with a public meeting involving a?town crier, while preparations are under?way?for?their annual May Day event and community stall in Towneley Park, Burnley.?

And in 2014, the?East Lancashire branch took part in a CND event?which saw a?seven-mile?‘peace scarf’?stitched?by demonstrators from the Atomic?Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston which stretched to?the village of Burghfield.?

Mrs West said: “I was really proud when we got involved with that, it was such a big event and so many people went down.”?

For CND as a whole,?its main?aim for the global elimination of nuclear weapons has not changed since its inception.

“It’s not an impossible goal,” Mr Penney said. “There is plenty of precedent to show that nations can co-operate.”?

As CND reaches?its 60th?birthday,?the?question remains whether the campaign can survive into another decade. But the members of the East Lancashire branch are in no?doubts about its longevity.?

“There will always be a need for a Campaign Against Nuclear Disarmament,?nuclear weapons can’t be?un-invented,” said Mrs West.?“We’re in it for the long game here and we won’t give up.”?