Wither The Trident Replacement ? - Scrapping TRIDENT would save £83.5bn and many of the jobs at risk could be transferred to alternative defence projects according to an report published by a commission set up by the British American Security Information Council. An average annual saving of £1.86bn would be made until 2062, it claims. The option of arming a new fleet of ASTUTE submarines with nuclear armed cruise missiles – which is being considered by an internal Ministry of Defence study – might cost £56.5bn up to 2058, the report says. Under the worst case scenario, scrapping TRIDENT could lead to the loss of 31,000 job the report says

Centreforum a Liberal policy think tank also argues to cancel the "nonsensical" replacement of the TRIDENT nuclear submarines and use the money to "revitalise" the armed forces.     Centreforum says Britain is "sleepwalking" into replacing TRIDENT at a cost of £25bn when there is no current or medium-term threat to the UK which justifies the huge costs involved.    The MoD said the government was committed to maintaining a continuous submarine-based nuclear deterrent and in May 2011, the then Defence Secretary Liam Fox approved the £3bn first design stage for the new submarines.   However, the coalition Government has delayed a final decision until after the next election amid concerns from the Liberal Democrats about the cost.

Comment – the British American Security Information Council and Centreforum are undoubtedly right that a lot of money could be saved but at what cost to the nation and the wider planet. This observer has always been of the opinion that the justification for the POLARIS and TRIDENT expenditure was not that it adds to the stature of GB UK Ltd in the World among our friends and foes, and as a byproduct of this really guarantees us a seat at the United Nations; the real justification lays elsewhere. Given recent an ongoing world events and with the words Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya and Syria ringing in our ears, with China among others to be added to that list in the future, the very fact that America has an ally with the TRIDENT surely means that there is a bound to be dialogue between allies before these weapons would be unleashed and in uncertain world a calming and experienced British presence at the ultimate top table is surely a small price to pay for the future of the planet.