Ed Davey: Britain must end its dangerous dependence on Trump’s America for nuclear deterrent

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Ed Davey: Britain must end its dangerous dependence on Trump’s America for nuclear deterrent

In his speech at Liberal Democrat Conference today [Sunday 15th March], Ed Davey will call on the government to urgently start work on a fully-independent British nuclear deterrent, warning that the UK’s current reliance on the US for Trident missiles and maintenance represents an unacceptable risk to national security.

Davey argues that, while the UK has operational independence over Trident missiles leased from the US, their maintenance depends on American facilities, meaning that the operability of the UK’s nuclear deterrent ultimately rests on the goodwill of whoever occupies the Oval Office – a dependence that was once tolerable but is no longer.

Davey is calling for the government to begin work immediately on two fronts: in the short term, developing a British capability to maintain existing Trident missiles domestically, ending reliance on American facilities; and in the longer term, manufacturing a fully British-made replacement when current missiles reach the end of their lives in the 2040s.

He points to the UK’s history of independent nuclear capability – Britain developed and built its own nuclear weapons in 1952, the third country in the world to do so – and to France’s fully-independent deterrent as proof that a sovereign British capability is achievable.

The proposal does not represent a departure from the Liberal Democrats’ long-standing commitment to multilateral disarmament, but reflects the reality of the current strategic landscape, in which Vladimir Putin holds a stockpile of more than 5,000 nuclear warheads and the United States can no longer be regarded as the reliable ally it once was.

In his speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference in York, Ed Davey is expected to say:

“Britain’s nuclear deterrent must be genuinely, verifiably ours – not dependent on Trump or whoever his successor may be. Trump has proven we can’t rely on America as a dependable ally.

“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.”

ENDS