Tony Blair will announce later today that a new generation of Trident nuclear submarines is to be built, while also promising to reduce the number of warheads by around a fifth. Given that the Tories and also to a certain extent the Lib Dems are also committed to us retaining the so-called "deterrent," there is no chance of him not ultimately getting his way on this.But like Charles Clarke, I am sceptical. Here's a bit of what I wrote in my weekend column in the Derby Evening Telegraph.
"Earlier this year, North Korea shocked world opinion by testing a nuclear weapon underground, and Iran is known to want to follow suit. What moral authority do we have in seeking to dissuade them from that potentially catastrophic course if we are planning to spend £20bn on ensuring we remain a member of the nuclear club?"
More of this in my Week in Politics Podcast, a text version of which is available HERE.
