Nuclear weapons are attracting a higher profile in this UK election debate than they have in any nuclear weapon state in a generation. Yet the focus is dominated by symbolic prejudice (does a political leader have the necessary mettle to resist minority opinions and renew Trident?) rather than strengthening national security in the round, let alone Britain's contribution to global peace and security.
Analysis
Costs of UK Trident After the Election
It is easy to be cynical in the middle of an election campaign, but attempts to question Labour's commitment to Trident renewal are not simply election ploys exploiting painful legacies and fears around the rise of the SNP.
UK General Election Trident debate should go beyond symbolism
It was utterly predictable that Trident renewal would be used by the Conservatives to question Labour's credibility and trustworthiness, and by the smaller anti-nuclear parties to distinguish themselves, but the profile of the issue in this election campaign has been far greater than anybody predicted.
Trident debate: 16,000 nuclear missiles in the world – but who has them, and does UK really need its own arsenal?
This article in the Belfast Telegraph cited BASIC Executive Director Paul Ingram talking about the costs of Trident.
Read the full article here: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/trident-debate-16000-nuclear-missiles-in-the-world-but-who-has-them-and-does-uk-really-need-its-own-arsenal-31130413.html
A responsible nuclear-armed state?
It may sound like an oxymoron but we need a new global conversation which engages all nuclear-armed states en route to disarmament. Is there such a thing as a responsible nuclear-armed state in the 21st century? If so, what does it look like?
Trident – weak defence
The Conservative-led government of austerity Britain is facing the sacrifice of its sacred cow of high military spending—to preserve the even more precious elephant in the room: the UK’s ‘independent’ nuclear weapon.
As we scrutinise government spending, it’s time to review Trident
Left Foot Forward published an article by BASIC Executive Director, Paul Ingram.
The article can be read here: http://leftfootforward.org/2015/03/as-we-scrutinise-government-spending-its-time-to-review-trident/
The sustainability of the P5 process and expectations for London
The United Kingdom will play host this week to the United States, France, China and Russia for a meeting of the “P5 Process”. This is the last meeting of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) nuclear weapon states (NWS) prior to the NPT Review Conference this April. These states have been meeting for five years and the pressure is on to demonstrate concrete evidence that a multilateral approach can achieve some progress in meeting disarmament obligations. But is the “P5 Process” sustainable, and if so, what should we realistically expect from the London meeting?