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Army chief sees no need to replace Trident
Posted by louise on 11 March 2010.

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. Read more »
2009 in pictures
Posted by jossc on 8 January 2010.
It's been another big year for Greenpeace around the world, culminating in the Copenhagen climate summit. Take a look back on some of our best images and stories from 2009.
Video: that Parliamentary projection in full...
Posted by jossc on 8 December 2009.
Peace campaigner Louise gives us all a quick behind the scenes look at how to successfully project a slogan onto the Houses of Parliament...
Trident - a financial projection from Greenpeace
Posted by jossc on 8 December 2009.

What a pain it must be to be in charge of the nation's finances in these challenging economic times. It's easy to imagine the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, working feverishly into the night in a frantic attempt to make the sums at least appear to add up as he prepares for tomorrow's crucial pre-budget report. But what to cut when everything is a 'tough choice' - education, the NHS, or the unthinkable alternative - raising taxes?
Read more »Brown proposes paltry Trident cut
Posted by louise on 23 September 2009.

With great fanfare and just ahead of the Labour party conference Gordon Brown has launched his contribution to nuclear disarmament on the world – reducing the number of Trident replacement submarines from four to three.
Will champagne corks be popping in the living rooms of peace campaigners across the land tonight? Well, while it may seem churlish to criticise any positive noises being made about nuclear disarmament, the answer is a resounding no. When you look behind the spin at exactly what has been announced it's clear there's little to celebrate.
Read more ȣ97 billion for Trident: five times government estimates
Posted by louise on 18 September 2009.
This week's news has been dominated by debate about the dire economic outlook facing the nation, and the likely severity of the cutbacks we'll need to make to pay down our now massive national debt. Ministers wring their hands about it but can't escape the reality that Britain plc needs to make cuts across the board - unless, of course, it's weapons of mass destruction that are under discussion.
Read more »Trident: wot no parliamentary debate?
Posted by louise on 16 July 2009.

In recent months it has become increasingly clear that the UK has a massive hole in its national budget and whoever comes to power after the next election is going to have to slash government spending. The debate about what should be cut has just begun, but already emerging at the top of many people's lists (certainly mine) is the planned £76bn replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system.
Read more »Promising signs on the road to nuclear disarmament
Posted by louise on 7 July 2009.
Two promising developments today...
First up Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signalled their intention to reduce the number of US and Russian nuclear warheads to 1,500-1,675.
Okay, each side still have enough bombs to destroy the Earth several times over. Plus the agreement only deals with "deployed strategic" weapons, leaving out the thousands of nuclear weapons deemed "non-strategic" or "non-deployed". But coming after years of standoff the fact the two countries are back at the negotiating table is undoubtedly GOOD NEWS. Read more »
G20: Obama still finds time for historic US/Russia nuclear arms reduction plan
Posted by louise on 2 April 2009.
During his election campaign President Obama placed a high emphasis on dealing with one of the greatest threats we all face - reducing the vast numbers of nuclear missiles held by both Russia and the United States.
As he put it in his inauguration speech "With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat" In response to an arms control survey he was more specific – "I will not authorize the development of new nuclear weapons. And I will make the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons worldwide a central element of U.S. nuclear policy."
Read more »Brown's mixed signals on nuclear
Posted by jossc on 20 March 2009.
Martin Butcher gives his reaction to the Prime Minister's recent policy speech on the future of Britain's nuclear arsenal. Martin is a consultant on international security issues and a Nato policy analyst for the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy. This article first appeared in Comment is Free on 17th March.
Gordon Brown's speech today at Lancaster House exposed a fundamental contradiction at the heart of government policy on non-proliferation. The prime minister sees the importance of a world free of nuclear weapons because it is the only way of guaranteeing "that our children and grandchildren will be free from the threat of nuclear war". And yet, his government is committed to the development of a new generation of submarine-based nuclear weapons to replace Trident, thus maintaining Britain's status as a nuclear weapons state for half a century.
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