Responding to the Liberal Democrats' decision to oppose replacement of the Trident nuclear missile system, Green Party deputy leader Adrian Ramsay said today:
"We are delighted that the Liberal Democrats have made this decision, and we call on the government and the Conservative Party to follow.
"The LibDems have come a long way since they supported the original Trident, and Nick Clegg is to be congratulated for winning the argument within his party.
The Liberal Democrats have been prevaricating over Trident for some time. As recently as September 2008 the LibDems were talking about "A major reduction of [the UK's] nuclear arsenal by approximately 50%, retaining no more than 100 warheads, with each Trident submarine carrying no more than 24 warheads when on deterrence patrol," and "Announcing its willingness to renounce the Trident system and any successor by agreement at the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty review." (1)
And as recently as 30 March 2009, Lord Lee of Trafford, Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson, said that "the Trident nuclear system should be continued and maintained, and its operational life extended. The final decision of any successor system should be taken around 2014 when significant capital spend would begin to be incurred." (2).
Adrian Ramsay, offering the Green Party's congratulations to the Liberal Democrats, concluded:
"The Trident missile system was redundant before it was introduced, and it has wasted tens of billions of pounds that could have been much better spent. But it's a case of much better late than never. Now we very much hope that Labour and the Conservatives will follow the lead taken by the Greens and the Liberal Democrats."
Notes
1. Security and Liberty in a Globalised World: Liberal Democrat Policy Paper 86, ISBN: 978-1-85187-786-7 © June 2008, which can be found at:
Security and Liberty in a Globalised World.
2. This was found at http://www.libdems.org.uk/home/lib-dems-call-for-swift-action-on-nuclear-proliferation-215815113 ;show, but appears to have been removed from the LibDem website.