Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey will urge Britain to decouple its nuclear weapons from US dependency, calling for British-made alternative by 2040s
Britain needs to disentangle its nuclear deterrent from America, so it is no longer reliant on an increasingly unpredictable US for the upkeep of the weapons, Sir Ed Davey will argue.
Whilst Britain’s Trident nuclear missile system operates independently, allowing the Government to utilise the weapon if deemed necessary, the Liberal Democrat leader will contend in a speech at the party’s spring conference that the American production and maintenance of the missiles means the deterrent isn’t truly autonomous.
Sir Ed will advocate for a “genuinely, verifiably” independent nuclear deterrent to supersede Trident, as he believes US President Donald Trump is no longer a reliable ally. During his address at the Lib Dem spring conference in York, Sir Ed will assert: “Britain’s nuclear deterrent must be genuinely, verifiably ours – not dependent on Trump or whoever his successor may be.
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“Trump has proven we can’t rely on America as a dependable ally.”
Sir Ed’s plea to sever ties with US support for Trident comes amidst the ongoing American-Israeli conflict with Iran in the Middle East, which has sent shockwaves through global energy markets.
Mr Trump has openly criticised the UK’s decision to stay out of the war and threatened to cease all trade with US ally Spain after its government refused American access to its airbases for use in the conflict.
The American president has also locked horns with the country’s longstanding European partners over his ambitions to seize Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory.
Sir Ed will urge the Prime Minister to pursue two separate measures to detach Britain’s nuclear arsenal from American control. As an immediate priority, the Government must establish its own servicing programme for Trident.
Looking further ahead, a completely British-manufactured replacement ought to be produced to succeed Trident when the weapons system reaches obsolescence in the 2040s, he will argue.
The Lib Dem leader will add: “As the UK now prepares to replace Trident in the 2040s, we should make the decision now to spend the billions required over the next two decades here in the UK, not in the US.
“Britain has the best scientists, the best engineers, the best builders in the world. So let’s get building our own, truly independent nuclear deterrent here in the UK. Made in Britain.”
Sir Ed is also expected to point to Britain’s past for inspiration: The nation developed its own atomic weapons during the 1950s, becoming only the third nation to achieve this after the USA and the Soviet Union.
He will also say Britain can look to its neighbour France, which operates its own completely autonomous nuclear capability. Trident has previously been calculated to consume roughly 6% of the UK’s yearly defence spending.
The Chatham House think tank has indicated Britain will confront a challenging decision when replacing Trident. Pursuing an independent deterrent would prove enormously expensive, whilst partnering with France would similarly create dependence on an ally, the think tank warned.
Britain sustains its nuclear capability by ensuring one of its four nuclear submarines remains operational at sea continuously.
The Vanguard class vessels operate from Faslane, on Scotland’s western coastline. They’re being succeeded by new Dreadnought class submarines under construction at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
