Strategic Defence Review

MoD starts purchasing Trident replacement without parliamentary OK - get your MP to act!

Posted by andrelotz — 18 March 2011 at 3:22pm - Comments
While cuts are being made to public services, why is money being spent on weapon
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace
While cuts are being made to public services, why is money being spent on weapons we neither want or need?

At the mention of nuclear today our thoughts turn to the situation in Japan and all of those affected by the earthquakes, tsunami and nuclear emergency. I can only hope that the situation at Fukushima is soon contained and the risks minimised for everyone affected.

Here in the UK, there is another nuclear issue that is silently inching forward without parliamentary approval or public awareness – nuclear weapons replacement.

Article tagged as: disarmament, EDMs, nuclear weapons, peace, strategic defence review, trident

MoD have a Trident-sized hole in their budget

Posted by Louise Edge — 21 January 2011 at 11:49am - Comments

Yesterday's headline in the FT shouted "MoD faces fresh crisis over funding". It turns out that the Ministry of Defence have checked over last October's defence review and found out that they actually need an extra £1 billion a year over the next four years to deliver it.

Article tagged as: disarmament, MoD, peace, strategic defence review, trident

A win on Trident?

Posted by Louise Edge — 20 October 2010 at 2:55pm - Comments

Yesterday’s Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) gave us the welcome news that plans to replace Trident have been put on hold and reductions will be made to our existing nuclear weapons. "Five year delay" shouted the papers who widely interpreted the move as a compromise to keep the coalition government together.

The reality is that in the face of military cuts and a National Security Review (which concluded the threats we face are cyber crime, terrorism, a foreign crisis "drawing in Britain", and natural disasters) it’s hard to imagine how David Cameron could have ticked the yes box on spending £97bn replacing Trident. Particularly as there was already a joker in the SDSR pack in the shape of the aircraft carriers.

Article tagged as: aircraft carriers, disarmament, peace, strategic defence review, trident

New poll shows Clegg on collision course with party over Trident

Posted by jossc — 16 September 2010 at 1:49pm - Comments

With the Liberal Democrats' first conference since they entered government looming later this week, we commissioned a poll to see how party members are feeling about Trident replacement. Not surprisingly, given that the party campaigned on scrapping 'like for like' replacement during the election campaign, not many are in favour.

Article tagged as: liberal democrats, party conferences, politics, strategic defence review, trident

Why even the Daily Mail thinks the price for our membership of the 'nuclear club' is too high

Posted by Louise Edge — 15 September 2010 at 2:11pm - Comments

Today's media is full of stories about defence cuts. They come on the back of a parliamentary Defence Committee report which accuses the government of rushing the defence review and being preoccupied with cost-cutting - rather than dealing with the real threats Britain faces.

Article tagged as: strategic defence review, trident

Trident - who'd buy it?

Posted by Louise Edge — 28 July 2010 at 3:14pm - Comments

How The Sun saw last week's spat between Osborne and Fox © Andy Davey

Trident replacement is looking less likely today after Chancellor George Osborne told media that the Treasury weren’t willing to stump up for the project out of central funds.

Speaking in New Delhi, where he is accompanying David Cameron on his visit to India, Mr Osborne told the Bloomberg newswire: "All budgets have pressure. I don't think there's anything particularly unique about the Ministry of Defence. I have made it very clear that Trident renewal costs must be taken as part of the defence budget."

Article tagged as: disarmament, george osborne, peace, strategic defence review, trident

So it's cuts across the board - except for Trident

Posted by jossc — 23 June 2010 at 12:37pm - Comments

While George Osborne was busy launching the most swingeing budget cuts in a generation yesterday, he went out of his way to stress that he was being "tough but fair" – and that the pain of his austerity measures would be shared by everyone.

But hey - apparently companies involved in nuclear arms building wont be sharing the pain. This was made clear by new Defence Secretary Liam Fox when he presented his plans for a Strategic Security and Defence Review (SDSR) to parliament.

Article tagged as: budget, disarmament, nuclear weapons, peace, strategic defence review, trident

Army chief sees no need to replace Trident

Posted by Louise Edge — 11 March 2010 at 2:54pm - Comments

Trident: replacement costs are spiralling out of control

Former chief of defence staff, Lord Guthrie, said last night that the UK should consider cutting plans to replace the Trident nuclear missile system and build the UK’s largest ever aircraft carriers.

In a speech at the centre-right thinktank the Centre for Policy Studies, he said there was a gaping hole at the heart of Britain's military budget which was "too big to massage, to trim, to rely on efficiency savings and prayer". Britain, he added, faced a "moment of decision" in shaping a new defence strategy.

Article tagged as: nuclear weapons, peace, strategic defence review, trident
Syndicate content

Follow Greenpeace UK