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Give us genuine nuclear choices

Paul Ingram was featured in the Letters section of the Evening Standard as he called for political leaders in the UK to consider genuine steps down the nuclear ladder after the release of the government's Trident Alternatives Review on July 16th.

Read the article by clicking the PDF link below.

Commentary on the UK Trident Alternatives Review

The government published its Trident Alternatives Review earlier today. This short briefing gives an immediate response. BASIC will later this year be publishing the results of the Trident Commission, considering the broader issues that form the context of the decision.

Today’s technical government review has highly political roots in the desire by Liberal Democrats to ask two key (strategic, political) questions:

Cutting back Britain’s nuclear submarine fleet would be huge gamble with the nation’s security, claims Defence Secretary

The Daily Record referenced BASIC's recent report, 'Trident in UK Politicis and Public Opinion', in this article which highlights the political divide on the Trident debate between the UK main parties.

Read the full article on the Daily Record's website:

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/cutting-back-britains-nuclear-submarine-2056750

U.K. Finds ‘Credible’ Alternatives to Submarine Nukes Won’t Come Cheap

Elaine Grossman interviews BASIC's Paul Ingram and Rebecca Cousins for this article about the findings of the UK government's Trident Alternatives Review and the implications for the nuclear debate in Britain.

Read the full article on the Global Security Newswire:

http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/uk-finds-credible-alternatives-submarine-nukes-wont-come-cheap/

Defence chiefs back Trident replacement as LibDems declare coalition dividing line

The Herald Scotland highlights the political divide over the government's Trident Alternatives Review. The article references BASIC's report, 'Trident in UK Politics and Public Opinion'.

Read the full article on the Herald Scotland's website:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/defence-chiefs-back-trident-replacement-as-libdems-declare-coalition-dividing-line.1373955077

The British Trident debate: an opportunity for progress?

Whether you support or oppose them, nuclear weapons have become an entrenched part of the British security discussion, with periods of major debate – in the 1960s and 1980s especially – leaving a lasting impact on the national psyche. But it’s rare that we have the chance to see governments – in the UK or elsewhere – step back and engage in truly forward-thinking, public consideration of why that is the case, and what the alternatives might be. This could be one of those moments for the UK. Could. Whether it will or not, remains to be seen.

Trident in UK Politics and Public Opinion

Nuclear weapons policy looks set to feature as a political issue in the 2015 general election. A broad consensus on UK nuclear weapons policy since of the end of the Cold War amongst the party leaderships of the three main Westminster parties has been disturbed by the debate on whether and, if so, how to replace the current Trident nuclear weapons system.

Trident downgrade would be reckless, say Tories on eve of Lib Dem review

Richard Norton-Taylor references recent BASIC publication, Trident in UK Politics and Public opinion, in his article preceeding the release of the UK goverenment's Trident Alternatives Review.

Read the full article on the Guardian website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/2013/jul/15/trident-downgrade-reckless-philip-hammond