Government agrees to publish Trident review
Quakers welcome the plan to publish the review of alternatives to Trident
Quakers have welcomed government plans to publish a review on alternatives to the Trident nuclear weapons system. The review, carried out by Liberal Democrat MPs, was promised in the coalition agreement but the Ministry of Defence had said they had ‘no plans to publish’ it following its submission to the prime minister.
David Cameron and Nick Clegg have now promised that the review will be made public, once it is completed, within the first half of 2013. The Liberal Democrats officially oppose a ‘like-for-like’ replacement of Trident, which the Conservative Party supports.
‘Naturally, most observers thought it was pretty pointless to commission a review and then hide the findings,’ said Kate Hudson of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).
Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) welcomed the news and encouraged Friends ‘to use the publication of the review to discuss alternatives to replacing Trident’.
Most or all of the alternatives covered by the review are expected to involve scaled-down nuclear weapons systems rather than an end to UK ownership of nuclear arms. Possibilities include dual-use submarines or the use of cruise missiles.
‘As Quakers, we want to get rid of nuclear weapons completely, but also welcome all steps towards disarmament,’ explained QPSW’s Sam Walton. He told the Friend: ‘The Trident Alternatives Review is likely to propose four to six options, and we expect most options to be a significant step towards disarmament.’
The coalition agreement published in 2010 is ambiguous over Trident (see ‘Government faces questions over Trident policy’, 21 May 2010). It states that Liberal Democrats will continue to make the case for alternatives.
A formal decision on replacing Trident is not due until 2016, although ministers have begun to spend money upgrading it. The Ministry of Defence say they will spend £4 billion before 2016. A CND spokesperson said this figure does not take account of additional costs, such as research funding, and that a more accurate figure would be close to £7 billion. Estimates of the total cost of Trident renewal are as high as £100 billion.
Kate Hudson said it was ‘no surprise’ that polls show a majority of the public opposing Trident at a time of cuts to public services. She urged ministers to support ‘the majority of public opinion, which sees nuclear weapons as useless and exorbitantly expensive.’
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