Scottish MPs lay down gauntlet over UK nuclear fleet

[bananas]

Source: Agence France-Presse

The Scottish National Party, which could play a key role in British politics following elections in May, called on the main political parties to scrap Britain's nuclear deterrent on Tuesday.

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"The time has come to put down a marker about scrapping Trident and not replacing these weapons of mass destruction," Robertson told parliament.

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"With polls showing we may very well hold the balance of power after the next general election we will do everything we can to ensure that Trident replacement does not go ahead," Robertson said.

He estimated that the savings from scrapping Trident could add up to £100 billion (131 billion euros, $151 billion).

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Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/scottish-mps-lay-down-gauntlet-over-uk-nuclear-194624478.html

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[bananas]

1. Trident: Parliament debates £100bn project - at last

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/defence-and-security-blog/2015/jan/20/trident-uk-s-nuclear-arsenal-commons-debate

Trident: Parliament debates £100bn project - at last
• Heated debate on future of UK nuclear weapons called by SNP, Plaid Cymru, and Greens
• Conservative and Labour leaderships united on new four-submarine Trident fleet

Richard Norton-Taylor
Tuesday 20 January

Today, Tuesday, a number of MPs are questioning why Britain needs to renew its fleet of Trident submarines equipped with intercontinental ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads.

<snip>

Kate Hudson, general secretary of CND (which is planning an anti-Trident demonstration in London on Saturday) has made the point that the government had no mandate to authorise the Trident expenditure ahead of the vote in 2016.

In the Commons on Tuesday, Michael Fallon, the UK defence secretary, fell back on a well-worn ministerial phrase saying he "did not recognise" the £100bn figure. Yet he added it was not possible to put a total figure on the cost of replacing Trident.

<snip>

It was "inconceivable", Harvey told the Commons on Tuesday, "any sane person could press the button".

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[bananas]

2. The age of coalition government is killing off Trident

http://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2015/01/19/the-age-of-coalition-government-is-killing-off-trident

The age of coalition government is killing off Trident
By Ian Dunt Monday, 19 January 2015

Coalition has delayed the renewal of Trident for the last five years and it's likely to do it again for the next five.

Plaid Cymru, the Greens and the SNP are all clearly mulling their red lines in the event of a rainbow coalition with Labour. The Welsh nationalists have used an opposition day debate on the nuclear weapons system this week to make it pretty clear Trident is one of them.

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Any Plaid involvement in a rainbow coalition would evidently mean another half decade delay on renewing Britain's nuclear deterrent. If Labour go into coalition with the Lib Dems, the project may go through but with three submarines rather than four. That could prove attractive to Labour as it tries to come to a position which is tolerable to its most prominent figures and its rank-and-file. But it's just as likely that the two parties would elect to kick the issue into the long grass for another five years. After all, the current submarines have a life expectancy which takes them into the 2020s.

<snip>

Trident could prove impossible to renew without a Labour or Tory majority

If it won a majority, Labour would almost certainly join the Tories in signing up for the £25 billion deal in 2016. The party's most prominent figures are still haunted by that dramatic defeat of 1983, when it was almost reduced to third place on what was seen as a far-left manifesto.

But public opinion on the nuclear deterrent has changed significantly since the Cold War. A Mail on Sunday poll after the general election showed 63% supported scrapping Trident. By last year a Guardian poll put it at 79%.

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[LeftishBrit]

3. I've wanted the UK to scrap Trident for decades; maybe we'll finally do so

That, of course depends on governments acting sensibly, which they rarely do.

[Nihil]

4. Agreed (on both points).

Wow ... that means I'm in agreement with the Scots Nats ?!

[roamer65]

5. Reminds me of the series "A Very British Coup"

The results of the British elections in May could be very interesting.