Britain should look again at a decision to spend billions updating its nuclear weapons, four former senior military commanders said on Wednesday, supporting the party that may hold the balance of power after an election.
Parliament approved the Labour government’s decision to buy a new submarine-based nuclear weapons system in 2007, but key spending decisions have been delayed until after a nuclear non-proliferation conference in New York next month, meaning they will fall to the next British government.
Labour and the main opposition Conservatives have re-affirmed support for replacing the nuclear-armed submarine fleet, due to start going out of service in the 2020s.
The smaller opposition Liberal Democrats oppose the move, however, saying it could cost £100 billion (US$154 billion) that Britain cannot afford as it struggles with a huge deficit.
With the Liberal Democrats surging in the polls and a close result expected from the May 6 vote, either Labour or the Conservatives may depend on their support to form a viable government. The Trident missile system could become a bargaining chip in negotiations on forming a coalition government.
The former commanders’ intervention, in a letter to the Times, comes on the eve of the second of the party leaders’ pre-election debates yesterday, which were to focus on foreign and security issues, likely to include Trident.
The former commanders said it was “of deep concern” that the Trident decision would not be looked at again in the defense review that all three parties would hold after the election.
“It may well be that money spent on new nuclear weapons will be money that is not available to support our frontline troops, or for crucial counter-terrorism work; money not available for buying helicopters, armored vehicles, frigates or even for paying for more manpower,” they wrote.
The signatories were Edwin Bramall, a former chief of the British armed forces, and David Ramsbotham, Hugh Beach and Patrick Cordingley, all former senior commanders.
They said Britain should consider the impact of replacing Trident on international disarmament talks, noting the US-Russian agreement to slash their nuclear arsenals.
With the government’s budget deficit set to exceed 11 percent of GDP this fiscal year and with 9,500 British troops involved in a costly war in Afghanistan, pressure for cuts in armament programs will be intense.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said the former commanders’ letter supported his party’s arguments.
The Lib Dems say alternatives to buying new submarines include extending the life of the current system or putting nuclear missiles on Astute conventionally armed submarines.
Writing in the journal of the Royal United Services Institute, a defense think tank, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said “all major projects and capabilities other than Trident” would be reviewed post-election.
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