Trident Publications

BASIC Resources:

| 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2007 | 2006

• A Primer on Trident’s Cyber Vulnerabilities, Aleem Datoo and Paul Ingram, 22 March 2016
• The Inescapable Net: Unmanned Systems in Anti-Submarine Warfare, David Hambling, 29 February 2016
• Making sense of the Trident debate requires an open mind – in defence of Emily Thornberry, Paul Ingram, 9 Febraury 2016
• Will Trident Still Work in the Future?, Paul Ingram, 22 January 2016
• Trident: A Done Deal?, Paul ingram, 21 January 2016
• Trident: the need for a comprehensive risk assessment, Paul Ingram, 23 November 2015
• Trident- Decisions Taken and Immediate Prospects, Paul Ingram, 20 November 2015
• Trident Cost-Saving Options, Paul Ingram, 27 October 2015
• We now need an informed Trident debate, Paul Ingram, 16 September 2015
• Preserving the character of the Nation: British military attitudes towards nuclear weapons, Tim Street, June 25, 2015
• UK nuclear weapons – a source of insecurity?, Paul Ingram, May 26, 2015
• UK Nuclear Policy Now: Questions Remain, Paul Ingram, May 15, 2015
• Will the New Government be Obliged to Renew Trident?, Paul Ingram, April 27, 2015
• NPT is an Election Issue: UK Member of Elite Club of Irresponsible Nations, Paul Ingram, April 24, 2015
• Costs of UK Trident After the Election, Paul Ingram, April 23, 2015
• UK General Election Trident debate should go beyond symbolism, Paul Ingram, April 21, 2015
• Factsheet: UK Trident Replacement April 2015 (PDF)
• A Memo to the Next Prime Minister: Options Surrounding the Replacement of Trident, Paul Ingram, March 18, 2015
• Trident – weak defence, Paul Ingram, March 12, 2015
• BASIC response to ‘Retiring Trident’, Paul Ingram, February 16, 2015
• Why does Britain need to feel special?, Paul Ingram, November 3, 2014.
• Trident- A liability the UK can ill afford to keep, Paul Ingram, September 17, 2014
• A BASIC Guide to Interpreting the Trident Commission’s Concluding Report, July 1, 2014.
• The Scottish referendum: a chance to challenge our nuclear assumptions?, Rebecca Cousins, BASIC This Week, April 1, 2014.
• “Cost and benefits to US strategic interests from UK renewal of Trident”
  BASIC Strategic Dialogue on nuclear weapons, event in Washington, DC, with speakers Paul Ingram and Peter Huessy, November 12, 2013.
• Factsheet: UK and US Trident
  November 2013 (PDF)

• “Defending the Future”: A rational approach to Britain’s future nuclear arsenal, Toby Fenwick, commissioned by BASIC and WMD Awareness, September 9, 2013
• Mr. Alexander goes to Washington
  Rachel Staley, September 9, 2013
  Britain’s chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, traveled to Washington D.C. to discuss the UK government’s Trident Alternatives Review.
•  Commentary on the UK Trident Alternatives Review, Paul Ingram, July 16, 2013
  Paul Ingram shares his immediate reflections on the results of the government Alternatives Review and the implications for the UK nuclear debate.
• The British Trident Debate: an opportunity for progress?, Rebecca Cousins, BASIC This Week, July 15, 2013
• Trident in UK Politics and Public Opinion, Dr Nick Ritchie and Paul Ingram, July 15, 2013
  Ritchie and Ingram examine the presence of Trident in UK politics and public opinion throughout recent history, on the eve of the release of the government’s Trident Alternatives Review.
• Reading the Findings of the UK Trident Alternatives Review, Paul Ingram, July 8, 2013
  Paul Ingram outlines the key points that should be taken into consideration when reading the UK government Trident Alternative Review which is due to come out in mid July, 2013.
• The Great British Trident Debate: 2013 Reviews, 2014 Referendum, 2015 General Election, 2016 Main Gate, Paul Ingram & Rachel Staley, BASIC Blog, June 26, 2013
  This article outlines the key milestones in the British debate on Trident replacement over the next few years.
• Scotland: Trident & the Independence Debate, Rebecca Cousins, BASIC Blog, May 9, 2013
• Op-Ed: David Cameron’s nuclear fantasy land, Nick Ritchie, April 10, 2013
  Nick Ritchie responds to David Cameron’s promotion of the importance of the UK’s nuclear weapon system in light of recent activity by North Korea.
• Britain Marks the Death of a Conviction Politician, Paul Ingram, BASIC This Week, April 9, 2013
  Paul Ingram reflects on nuclear politics under Margaret Thatcher’s leadership.
• Beyond the Alternatives Review, Nick Ritchie, April 4, 2013
  Nick Ritchie outlines what should be considered in the Trident debate, beyond the government’s Trident Alternatives Review, due out in July 2013.
• Deterrence, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and UK Trident, John Simpson, BASIC Trident Commission Briefing, March 28, 2013
• Lib Dem leadership in government stakes out its ground ahead of Trident Alternatives Review, Paul Ingram, January 23, 2013
• Are UK commitments to the SSBN now irreversible?, Paul Ingram, BASIC This Week, October 29, 2012
• Scotland: questioning nuclear weapons and NATO membership, Paul Ingram, BASIC This Week, October 15, 2012
• Labour Party defence in the debate on Trident, Rachel Staley, BASIC This Week, October 1, 2012
• Entente Nucléaire, Bruno Tertrais, BASIC Trident Commission Briefing, June 25, 2012
• Trident In Question, Paul Ingram, BASIC This Week, May 29, 2012
• Defence-Industrial Issues: Employment, Skills, Technology and Regional Impacts, Keith Hartley, BASIC Trident Commission Briefing, March 21, 2012
• Beyond the UK: Trends in the Other Nuclear Armed States, Ian Kearns, BASIC Trident Commission Briefing, October 31, 2011
• Nuclear Weapons, the State of Play in 2011. Briefings on Nuclear Security 1. BASIC, alongside Pugwash and Acronym,  has launched a series of background briefings targeted at British MPs on the UK’s nuclear weapons policy and its context, July 2011.

• Deterrence in the Age of Nuclear Proliferation. Briefings on Nuclear Security 2. BASIC, Pugwash and Acronym. This is the second of the series of background briefings targeted at British MPs on the UK’s nuclear weapons policy and its context, July 2011.

• Trident: The Initial Gate Decision. Briefings on Nuclear Security 3. BASIC, Pugwash and Acronym. This third briefing on Nuclear Security focuses on the Government’s announcement of the passing of the Initial Gate decision for the Trident renewal project on 18 May, 2011

• Recent Progress in Nuclear Disarmament and Security: Britain’s Key Role.  Briefings on Nuclear Security 4. BASIC, Pugwash and Acronym. This is the fourth of the series of background briefings targeted at British MPs on the UK’s nuclear weapons policy and its context, July 2011.

• What’s Next with Trident in the United States?
  Chris Lindborg and Christopher Carr
  This brief reviews the United States’ strategic nuclear submarine program within the context of U.S. and U.K. plans for replacing their fleets, April 2011.

• A crisis in financing Britain’s replacement of Trident? Paul Ingram and Dr. Nick Ritchie
  It is time to reassess options for the replacement of the Trident nuclear missile submarines in the light of indications that the capital cost, to be funded from the Defence Ministry’s core budget, could run to 28 billion pounds over the next 10-15 years. But Ingram and Ritchie also argue that it would be a mistake to base a decision on cost alone, August 27, 2010.
• US General says UK to get rid of Trident, Paul Ingram, February 2, 2009.

• The UK Trident Vote Explained, Dr. Ian Davis, BASIC Notes, March 15, 2007.

• Don’t Rush: Premature replacement of Trident could be costly. The choice is clear: invest the money proposed for an early decision on Trident replacement in better equipment, pay and conditions for our troops. BASIC Trident Briefing Number 3, March 2007.

• Don’t Rush: The benefits of not replacing Trident could be considerable. On March 14 Parliament will decide whether the UK commits now to building a new generation of nuclear-armed submarines. But what kind of relationship do we want to have with the rest of the world? BASIC Trident Briefing Number 2, March 2007.

• Oceans of Work: Arms Conversion Revisited, by Dr. Steven Schofield, January 24, 2007. The government launched its White Paper on Trident replacement on 4th December and announced a debate and vote in the Commons for March. This report puts the alternative case for arms conversion as integral to a ‘national needs’ program of civil R&D and manufacture, including major investment in off-shore renewable energy, both for security of supply and to help tackle the growing international threat for climate change.

• UK Trident Replacement: too important to rush into, December 14, 2006. In a White Paper published on December 4, 2006 the Government decided to maintain the current Trident-based nuclear deterrent by procuring a new class of submarines. There are several reasons for believing that this decision is premature and can be delayed for a further 8-10 years. There are also significant military, strategic, procurement and diplomatic benefits to holding off a decision for another parliament. Given these advantages, the onus was on the Government to justify such an early decision.

• Decisions over the future of British Nuclear Weapons
  (BASIC Green Paper on Trident replacement, Presented to Parliament by the Chair of the British American Security Information Council.), December 1, 2006.

• The Ultimate Lecture: Anthropology 101, a video by the Beyond Trident group.