Tag Archives: trident

Opinion: A commitment to Trident diverts resources from the real threats to the UK

By Alex Paul | Thu 4th April 2013 - 4:34 pm

The ratcheting up of tensions in the last Cold War conflict in recent days has got David Cameron reminiscing about Britain’s own Cold War relic. Writing in the Daily Telegraph this Wednesday, the Prime Minister argues North Korea’s threats of nuclear war demonstrate that “it would be foolish to leave Britain defenceless against a continuing, and growing, nuclear threat.”

When I first heard this it struck me how out-of-date this view seems. As the world has watched the North Korea issue increasingly apocalyptic threats and the U.S. Government respond almost daily by deploying more military hardware

…

Posted in News | 58 Comments

Opinion: Funding defence

By Gareth Jones | Tue 5th March 2013 - 10:29 am

Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond has made headlines by suggesting the MOD and the armed forces should be spared any more significant cuts in the future spending review, instead suggesting the cuts should come from the social welfare budget instead.

The problem is… I partially agree with him; the defence budget is already the bare minimum required to meet the UK’s international commitments. It has not only received its share of austerity cuts under the Coalition but was underfunded under Blair and Brown leading …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged defence | 10 Comments

Danny Alexander tells Guardian: Like for like Trident replacement “not financially realistic”

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 23rd January 2013 - 1:55 pm

In an interview with the Guardian, Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has said that it’s neither financially possible nor strategically necessary to replace the Trident nuclear missile system with a similar set up. He added that any new deterrent would have to be paid for out of the existing Ministry of Defence budget as there was no “magic pot of money” in the treasury to pay for it.

He questioned whether the current set up met Britain’s needs in a

Posted in News | Also tagged Danny Alexander and guardian | 14 Comments

Trident: it’s déjà vu all over again

By Stephen Tall | Tue 30th October 2012 - 12:45 pm

The latest flurry of excitement about the Trident nuclear deterrent — as the Daily Mail puts it with typical tabloid restraint: Tories and LibDems at war over contract to build Trident sub: £350m deal is jumping the gun, warns Clegg — is one of those stories which pops up twice a year. The last time was six months ago, in May, when the Ministry of Defence announced £350m-worth of design contracts for the Trident successor submarines had been signed. As then Lib Dem defence minister Nick Harvey pointed out on LDV at the time:

is being portrayed as the Coalition Government moving a step closer to a

Posted in News | Also tagged defence, featured, ministry of defence, nick harvey and nuclear power | 21 Comments

Nick Clegg on Tories’ Trident announcement: “Some people are jumping the gun”

By Helen Duffett | Mon 29th October 2012 - 4:53 pm

Nick Clegg has made it clear that the Coalition Agreement on the Trident nuclear programme will not be changed, despite Philip Hammond’s announcement today on a multimillion-pound contract for a new generation of nuclear missile submarines.

Speaking at a press conference this morning, Nick Clegg said:

Some people are jumping the gun on this Trident decision. The Coalition Agreement is crystal clear. It stands. It will not be changed. It will not be undermined. It will not be

Posted in News | Also tagged coalition agreement and nick clegg | 6 Comments

‘Tories snub Lib Dems over Trident future’

By NewsHound | Mon 29th October 2012 - 10:07 am

From today’s Guardian:

Philip Hammond, the defence secretary, will reignite the argument over Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent on Monday when he announces a further multimillion-pound contract for a new generation of nuclear missile submarines, making it clear he plans to press ahead with a Trident replacement.

Posted in News | 12 Comments

Opinion: A Submarine for all seasons

By Gareth Jones | Wed 10th October 2012 - 9:54 am

The former defence minister, Nick Harvey, has reignited the debate about the replacement of Trident or, more specifically, the ballistic missile-carrying nuclear submarines which convey it.

Ironically, the Conservative Chancellor George Osborne has greatly helped the case for not renewing Trident, by placing the £25 Billion cost of the successor submarine in the main Defence budget, to compete with conventional arms for money. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the chiefs of the three services are reported to be going cold on the idea of a like-for-like replacement.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged featured | 17 Comments

The Independent View: An opportunity to direct the debate on Trident replacement

By Kate Hudson | Fri 21st September 2012 - 3:32 pm

In September 2010, Lib Dem Voice ran a revealing poll of its members to gauge opinion on Trident. With results strikingly similar to YouGov polls of Lib Dem members nationally, it found that 57% were opposed to replacing Trident and nuclear weapons altogether, while 90% were opposed to replacing Trident with a ‘like-for-like’ system.

It was commendable that the Liberal Democrats carried this sentiment into their 2010 election manifesto: standing apart from the Conservative and Labour consensus of ploughing £100bn into nuclear weapons amidst the worst economic crisis of recent times.

Opponents of Trident outside the party were also inspired by …

Posted in Conference and The Independent View | Also tagged cnd | 8 Comments

Tim Farron MP writes… My thoughts on the Cabinet reshuffle

By Tim Farron MP | Thu 6th September 2012 - 6:38 pm

The first proper reshuffle for our party since the 1920s was always going to be a weird situation. I am extremely sad to see Sarah Teather, Nick Harvey, Paul Burstow and Andrew Stunell leave the government. Sarah’s work on the Pupil Premium will leave an outstanding legacy for the next generation, Andrew’s work on releasing empty homes to meet the needs of those in desperate circumstances will make the difference to thousands of people and Nick Harvey’s tenacity in ensuring that a like for like replacement for Trident is kicked off into the long grass has been a quite immense …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged andrew stunell, david heath, david laws, nick clegg, nick harvey, paul burstow and sarah teather | 30 Comments

In other news… Trident, MI6, DECC, defections & other stories

By Stephen Tall | Sun 22nd July 2012 - 5:25 pm

Here’s a round-up of stories we haven’t had time to cover on the site this past few days…

Coalition set for new split on cut-price Trident plan (Scotsman)

COALITION splits over Britain’s nuclear deterrent are set to be reopened after an internal Ministry of Defence review suggested a slimmed-down version of the £25 billion Trident replacement could be an option. … The report, led by Lib Dem armed forces minister Nick Harvey, looks set to reopen coalition divisions with many Tory back-benchers concerned that Britain’s replacement for Trident could end up being sacrificed for political reasons. However, with final decisions not

…

Posted in News | Also tagged baroness falkner, charles kennedy, chris baron, chris holley, ed davey, john sawers, MI6, nick harvey, nikki thomson, phil lucas, ric morgan, sara bedford, southend council and stafford borough council | 5 Comments

The Independent View: The Trident review risks being a damp squib

By Kate Hudson | Sun 24th June 2012 - 4:55 pm

This week the Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced a £1.1 billion contract with Rolls Royce for building nuclear submarine reactors. This has caused quite some controversy and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond was immediately called to answer an Urgent Question in the Commons on the implications of this spending and whether it preempts a future decision on whether or not to replaceBritain’s Trident nuclear weapons system.

The contract itself will see £500m spent on the refurbishment of Rolls Royce’s Raynesway plant in Derby, while £600m will go on building new nuclear reactor cores to powerBritain’s submarines. Most of these will be …

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Also tagged nick harvey | 4 Comments

Nick Harvey MP writes… Updating you on Trident

By Nick Harvey MP | Tue 22nd May 2012 - 3:42 pm

Today’s announcement that design contracts for the Trident successor submarines have been signed is being portrayed as the Coalition Government moving a step closer to a full Trident replacement.

In reality the final decision for Trident replacement is still years away. Until 2016’s Main Gate decision, the ‘point of no return’ at which contracts are finalised and billions of pounds committed, there are still important questions to be asked about the future of the UK’s nuclear deterrent.

And if it wasn’t for Liberal Democrat influence in this Government, this simply would not be the case. It is because we are …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged coalition agreement | 12 Comments

The Independent View: Dropping the bomb

By Kate Hudson | Fri 9th March 2012 - 4:25 pm

A report launched this week caught the headlines by describing the replacement of Trident as “nonsensical”.

“Replacing Trident makes no sense” said the BBC, while the Guardian led with “Trident nuclear deterrent upgrade ‘nonsensical’”.

But they were not quoting the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament or any other campaigning organisation. Rather, they were quoting the liberal thinktank CentreForum, which David Cameron has previously commended “for their excellent work”.

Nick Clegg has also indicated the policy significance of CentreForum: “Many of the policy areas my party is implementing in government were developed, tested and refined through dialogue with the CentreForum team.”

The …

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Also tagged centreforum and cnd | 5 Comments

Opinion: Reasons to be Cheerful

By Sean Davey | Fri 9th March 2012 - 7:55 am

Waking up to the encouraging string of headlines as I did on Monday, I’m suddenly wondering if this is the point where we as a party have started getting it right?

If there are three uncontroversial elements to Lib Dem identity then equal marriage rights, campaigning against Trident and defending the individual (Nick Clegg launching the #thisisabuse campaign) are surely good starting points?

Conference is this weekend, so you could be forgiven for thinking these brilliant policies appear pre-emptively in our packs – but no, it’s almost as if we are a party of government: the Deputy Prime Minister appearing …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged centreforum, equal marriage and nick clegg | 5 Comments

Opinion: It’s time to scrap Trident

By Toby Fenwick | Thu 8th March 2012 - 11:56 am

The world is a better place because of the role Britain plays internationally through aid, diplomacy and, when necessary, using force sanctioned by international law. It is worth remembering the many Libyans and Sierra Leoneans who are alive today because of the actions of Britain’s forces.

Yet at a time when the government is preparing to spend at least £25 billion on replacing our Trident nuclear weapons, it is making cuts to the conventional forces that make such interventions possible. There have been £74 billion of defence cuts to date, with another £3-5 billion due to be announced before the Easter …

Posted in The Independent View | Also tagged centreforum and toby fenwick | 20 Comments

The Independent View: MoD suppresses Lib Dem review and spending information on Trident ahead of Parliamentary decision

By Kate Hudson | Thu 8th December 2011 - 9:28 am

Liberal Democrats can be rightly proud of their record on challenging like-for-like Trident replacement and keeping Britain’s nuclear weapons near the top of the political agenda – certainly during the last general election campaign. But now it looks as though their coalition partners are moving to stifle the gains they have made. Not only has the Defence Secretary announced the suppression of the Lib Dem-led Trident Alternatives Review. He is also making a mockery of the delayed Trident replacement decision – scheduled for 2016 – by committing to spend £6 billion before that decision date. This is hardly fair play …

Posted in The Independent View | Also tagged cnd, liam fox, nuclear disarmament, peter luff, philip hammond, ros scott and tessa munt | 18 Comments

Liberal Democrat members support proposed changes to planning rules, just

By Mark Pack | Fri 7th October 2011 - 7:25 am

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 550 party members responded, and we’re currently publishing the full results.

Our latest survey of party members finds a small majority backing the government’s controversial plans for the planning system in England. By a margin of 48% – 39% Liberal Democrat members in the survey supported the scheme to cut central control over planning but also introduce a presumption in favour of development if plans are sustainable and in line with local policies.

However, …

Posted in LDV Members poll | Also tagged high-speed rail, human rights act, immigration, marriage, railways, tax and transport | 5 Comments

The Independent View: Alternatives to Trident replacement must include the possibility of no nuclear weapons

By Kate Hudson | Sat 28th May 2011 - 12:23 pm

Since Liam Fox made his announcement last week that while Trident replacement design is going ahead, the Lib Dems will also be looking at alternatives, there has been a flurry of derision about the latter initiative. Most obviously this comes from Liam Fox and the hard–line pro-nuclear lobby who just want to rubbish it. But criticism of Lib Dem efforts also comes from some anti-nuclear quarters and I am not convinced that this is totally reasonable.

From my point of view, it would be very easy to have a pop at the Lib Dem leadership for not backing CND’s maximum programme …

Posted in The Independent View | Also tagged cnd, liam fox and nuclear disarmament | 13 Comments

Julian Huppert MP writes on Trident: We don’t need to keep fighting the Cold War

By Julian Huppert MP | Wed 18th May 2011 - 3:53 pm

I have believed for a long time that we don’t want nuclear weapons, we can’t afford them, and they weaken our moral authority to persuade other people not to obtain them. I proposed the emergency motion on this which we passed last year.

So how do I feel after today’s statement on the Initial Gate for Trident replacement?

Disappointed – but also encouraged and heartened by what we have achieved. Nick Harvey, our Minister, has helped to secure a 25% reduction in the overall number of warheads, and cost reductions to ease the financial burden. But this is not enough to …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged nick harvey | 19 Comments

Nick Harvey talks up closer nuclear cooperation with the French

By Mark Pack | Fri 1st April 2011 - 2:53 pm

In a speech yesterday Minister for the Armed Forces Nick Harvey both showed how ministers can stake out clearly different ground from the Conservatives and also gave a hint of major debates over nuclear weapons yet to come.

In his speech to the Franco-British Council Defence Co-operation Conference Nick Harvey said,

As you will know, the two parties in the UK coalition Government have a different approach to the renewal of the current Trident system, but we are jointly pledged to maintain Britain’s nuclear deterrent…

As a Liberal Democrat Minister in this UK Coalition Government, I have the freedom to explore and argue

…

Posted in News | Also tagged nick harvey | 6 Comments

The Independent View: We cannot have back-door Trident replacement

By Kate Hudson | Mon 21st February 2011 - 10:37 am

Delaying the decision, on whether or not to replace Trident, until 2016, has been the best bit of news to come out of the coalition government. This was announced, to the delight and relief of many, in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) last October.Of crucial importance, it makes Trident a general election issue – a fact, as Nick Harvey has stated, ‘of huge political significance’. Indeed, it holds out the possibility of defeat for a new generation of nuclear weapons. Given that the majority of the population has for some time backed scrapping Trident, this …

Posted in The Independent View | Also tagged cnd, julian huppert, steel and tessa munt | 21 Comments

The Saturday debate: Does Britain need nuclear weapons?

By Mark Pack | Sat 22nd January 2011 - 8:55 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our Saturday slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

One of the achievements of the Liberal Democrats in Coalition Government so far has been to ensure that no Trident replacement is orders during this Parliament. At the next election the party will be able to say, “We said we opposed Labour and Tory plans for replacing Trident – and those plans haven’t happened”. But is that going far enough; should Britain retain nuclear weapons at all – and if not, when and how should it give them up?

Agree? Disagree? Post your …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged weekend debate | 47 Comments

Trident: no renewal this Parliament

By Mark Pack | Tue 19th October 2010 - 9:53 pm

The BBC reports that the predicted policy has won the day:

The government says £750m ($1.2bn) will be saved over four years on the Trident nuclear deterrent missile system by cutting the number of warheads on each boat from 48 to 40 and reducing the number of missile tubes from 12 to eight. The UK’s nuclear warhead stockpile will be cut from 160 to less than 120. The final “main gate” spending decision on Trident will also be delayed until 2016 – after the next general election.

Party President Ros Scott has emailed party members, saying

Trident will not be renewed

…

Posted in News | Also tagged Ming Campbell and ros scott | 15 Comments

Huhne scorns tax breaks for married couples as “flag-waving”

By Stephen Tall | Sat 9th October 2010 - 3:58 pm

Today’s Telegraph has an in-depth interview with the Lib Dems’ climate change and energy secretary Chris Huhne, in which he expertly steers the tightrope of punchily sticking up for party policy while sticking well within collective responsibility.

Somewhat bizarrely, both the BBC and the Torygraph are leading on the least contentious part of the interview, in which Chris points out that the Coalition will adjust economic policy according to circumstances and forecasts:

“I’ve never known one Treasury Red Book to be exactly like the last one. There is always a change. It is a bit like setting sail. If the

…

Posted in News | Also tagged chris huhne, universal benefits and winter fuel allowance | 6 Comments

Conference: the full-time score

By Mark Pack | Sun 26th September 2010 - 9:20 am

Having blogged ten questions for Liberal Democrat conference, along with a conference half-time update, how do things look now the dust has settled from Liverpool for those ten points?

Party strategy

Love your coalition partner all the time in public: that was the clear line taken by Nick Clegg, reinforced by other senior party figures and not challenged directly in any high profile way during conference (save for one question during the Nick Clegg Q&A). And yet… whether or not the party should let its strong debates with the Conservatives within the coalition show a little more in public was …

Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Also tagged andrew sparrow, av referendum, Danny Alexander, jennie rigg, nick clegg, stuart bonar, susan kramer and tim farron | 9 Comments

So how was it for you?

By Linda Jack | Fri 24th September 2010 - 9:05 am

Well fellow Lib Dems, Bloggers and Tweeps… what did you make of conference then? Having been granted the honour of being “Guest Editor” (quaking in me boots it has to be said!) I thought, given the timing, it may be an opportunity to reflect on the last week in Liverpool.

What I want to do is to try and get a feel from members across the spectrum of our party, has conference left them feeling uplifted, confused, motivated, anxious, hopeful, proud?
I hope what follows today, especially for those of you who weren’t there, will give you a bit of …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged academies, free schools, guest editor, linda jack, nick harvey and social liberal forum | 27 Comments

Lib Dems pass motions on Trident and diversity

By The Voice | Wed 22nd September 2010 - 3:27 pm

News of two motions passed by Lib Dem conference today…

Diversity: Hughes to propose “radical changes” to promote candidate diversity

Simon Hughes, the party’s deputy leader, commented:

“I am glad that Conference agreed today that there will be a full set of proposals for candidate diversity and that we will have the chance to take decisions to change the face and mix of the Liberal Democrats.

“I will be presenting a paper to the Party’s Federal Executive next month which will propose radical changes in the way we select our candidates.

“This proposal will include the aim that half our candidates will be women …

Posted in Conference | Also tagged diversity, equalities, nick harvey and simon hughes | 4 Comments

Conference: the half-time score

By Mark Pack | Mon 20th September 2010 - 2:27 pm

At the start of conference, I blogged the ten issues that I thought would shape conference. Half-way through, how are things looking on the ten?

Strategy: the party’s official line of loving our coalition partners in public has been firmly stuck to by the party’s senior figures, and argued for by Nick Clegg during Q+A at the weekend. Bubbling under the surface are many questions about whether this is the right strategy and if the party could and would be better if it more often made public its disagreements, such as over the opting out of the EU directive

…

Posted in Conference, Op-eds and Party Presidency | Also tagged Danny Alexander and nick clegg | 3 Comments

Ten questions for conference

By Mark Pack | Fri 17th September 2010 - 9:26 am

It’s a fair bet that much of the media coverage of Liberal Democrat conference will be of the form ‘THEY’RE DOOMED!’, with the more subtle coverage for the more discerning journalists being ‘Are they doomed?’.

That has, after all, been the standard media fare since long before the Coalition, since before Nick Clegg became an MP, since before David Cameron became an MP, since before Tony Blair become Labour leader and since before John Major became Prime Minister. My money isn’t on the old standard formula changing this time round for …

Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Also tagged alan travis, electoral reform society, greg hurst, julian glover, mike hancock and nick clegg | 14 Comments

Poll: Less than 1 in 10 party members support like-for-like Trident replacement

By Mark Pack | Thu 16th September 2010 - 6:07 pm

An opinion poll of over 500 Liberal Democrat party members carried out by YouGov for Greenpeace has found that 7% said they supported a like-for-like replacement of Trident.

The key question asked was:

As you may know, there is currently debate about whether or not the UK should replace its Trident nuclear weapons system. Current policy is to replace the Trident submarines with a new fleet of boats, and to replace the ballistic nuclear missiles they carry at a later date. Which of the following options would you favour most?

Replace Trident with a broadly comparable system: 7%
Replace Trident with a cheaper system: …

Posted in News and Polls | Also tagged greenpeace and yougov | 8 Comments

Social mobility: is the Coalition doing enough to encourage it?

Stephen Tall asks: "Did Nate Silver write in vain?"

Nick Clegg: "Of course the EU has to change"

"Mad, swivel-eyed loons": a top Tory on the Tories

Tag Archives: trident

Opinion: A commitment to Trident diverts resources from the real threats to the UK

Opinion: Funding defence

Danny Alexander tells Guardian: Like for like Trident replacement “not financially realistic”

Trident: it’s déjà vu all over again

Nick Clegg on Tories’ Trident announcement: “Some people are jumping the gun”

‘Tories snub Lib Dems over Trident future’

Opinion: A Submarine for all seasons

The Independent View: An opportunity to direct the debate on Trident replacement

Tim Farron MP writes… My thoughts on the Cabinet reshuffle

In other news… Trident, MI6, DECC, defections & other stories

The Independent View: The Trident review risks being a damp squib

Nick Harvey MP writes… Updating you on Trident

The Independent View: Dropping the bomb

Opinion: Reasons to be Cheerful

Opinion: It’s time to scrap Trident

The Independent View: MoD suppresses Lib Dem review and spending information on Trident ahead of Parliamentary decision

Liberal Democrat members support proposed changes to planning rules, just

The Independent View: Alternatives to Trident replacement must include the possibility of no nuclear weapons

Julian Huppert MP writes on Trident: We don’t need to keep fighting the Cold War

Nick Harvey talks up closer nuclear cooperation with the French

The Independent View: We cannot have back-door Trident replacement

The Saturday debate: Does Britain need nuclear weapons?

Trident: no renewal this Parliament

Huhne scorns tax breaks for married couples as “flag-waving”

Conference: the full-time score

Party strategy

Lib Dems pass motions on Trident and diversity

Diversity: Hughes to propose “radical changes” to promote candidate diversity

Conference: the half-time score

Ten questions for conference

Poll: Less than 1 in 10 party members support like-for-like Trident replacement

Most Read

Op-eds

Recent Comments

Social mobility: is the Coalition doing enough to encourage it?

Stephen Tall asks: "Did Nate Silver write in vain?"

Nick Clegg: "Of course the EU has to change"

"Mad, swivel-eyed loons": a top Tory on the Tories

Tag Archives: trident

Party strategy

Diversity: Hughes to propose “radical changes” to promote candidate diversity

Subscribe

Most Read

Search

Op-eds

Recent Comments