Trident in the Strategic Defence Review
The following article, by Paul Ingram of the British and American Security Council (BASIC) outlines the government position on Trident as stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review published in late November 2015. There will now not be a main gate decision taken in parliament in 2016 – something that will impact on our campaigning.
Trident – Decisions Taken and Immediate Prospects – Paul Ingram, BASIC
The SDSR was published last week and now we know:
- the in-service date for the Trident Successor submarines is to be delayed a third time and that some of the existing Vanguards are expected to patrol into the late 2030s;
- there will not now be single Main Gate decision taken in the new year after all, because this is ‘not appropriate for a programme of this scale and complexity’;
- the cost of delivering the submarines is going up, and will total £31-41Bn (outturn prices);
- the programme will be put under new management, with greater flexibility and commercial involvement; and
- there will be a debate focused on the practice of continuous patrolling
