The UK Conservative government is considering pushing a rushed vote on Trident in July to divert attention from Brexit debates and exploit Labour’s internal divisions. However, such a move could be premature and politically risky. Delaying the vote could yield greater strategic benefits and allow more comprehensive debate and planning.
Analysis
Remembering Jo Cox MP
BASIC today mourns the death of Jo Cox MP, an extraordinary dynamo of energy and positive action. She worked tirelessly for a better world, and her death was a senseless act of violence.
There Are Fewer Nuclear Warheads Than a Year Ago
BASIC’s executive director, Paul Ingram, was quoted in this iNews article by Susie Coen about the world’s number of nuclear weapons.
Concerning SSBN Vulnerability - recent papers
Two BASIC papers published in recent months (The Inescapable Net: Unmanned Systems in Anti-Submarine Warfare and A Primer on Trident's Cyber Vulnerabilities), have asserted the UK’s strategic nuclear deterrent is in danger of becoming vulnerable in such a way that it can no longer be relied upon to fulfil its primary role.
Hugs, But Not Apologies: What Was the Point of Obama’s Hiroshima Visit?
BASIC’s Ward Wilson was featured on an episode of “Loud and Clear”, hosted by Brian Becker for Sputnik News. In the interview he analyses the significance of Obama’s visit to Hiroshima and the lasting legacy of nuclear weapons.
Dangerous Omissions and Intellectual Obfuscation: The ‘Left-Wing’ Case for Trident
Ian Sinclair, a writer for Open Democracy, published an article outlining a critical response to Paul Mason's “The leftwing case for nuclear weapons.” The article makes reference to a quote by Ted Seay that calls into question the independence of UK's nuclear policy.
Report: Beyond the Ban: The humanitarian initiative of nuclear disarmament and advocacy of no-first-use nuclear doctrines
Deep dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in multilateral nuclear disarmament has led a large number of states within the international community to participate in a process to highlight the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons.
Future Nuclear Security in a Rapidly Evolving World
BASIC and N Square Collaborative are co-hosting a unique open-ended workshop in San Francisco: an exploration of issues surrounding nuclear security, nuclear deterrence and international governance with a diverse group of participants. This is the concluding part of a project funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York looking at methods of reframing nuclear security issues in holistic, systems perspectives.