Caroline Lucas: Mounting cost of Trident replacement is 'eye watering'

New figures released by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament have revealed that the cost of Trident replacement could rise to £205bn.

The new estimate is based on official figures, answers to Parliamentary questions and previous costs. 

The biggest expense is the day to day running costs, which the government confirms is around 6% of the total defence budget. Conservative MP and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Crispin Blunt worked with Reuters to estimate that over the lifetime of the system, this would add up to £142 billion.

The costs of replacing Trident - Figures from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament [1]

Manufacturing four successor submarines

Contingency fund

Missile extension programme

Replacement warheads

Infrastructure capital costs

In service costs

Conventional military forces directly assigned to support Trident

Decommisioning

TOTAL

£

£

£

£

£

£

£

£

£

31 billion

10 billion

350 million

4 billion

4 billion

142 billion

1 billion

13 billion

205 billion

Caroline said:

“The eye watering cost of replacing this cold war relic now stands at up to £205bn. Not only is this a colossal waste of resources but I fear that ploughing these huge sums of money into Trident will make us less safe, not more.

“Nuclear missiles have the potential to cause devastation and death on an unimaginable scale, but they do nothing to hinder lone gunmen or extremists. Their very presence in Britain – and the transport of nuclear warheads on our roads – presents not only a target for terrorism but a continued risk of accidents linked to human error or technical failure.

“Replacing Trident is neither necessary nor sensible. The evidence – provided by senior ex-military figures among others - is stacked against spending billions of pounds on these exceptionally dangerous weapons.

“Parliament will soon choose whether to join the vast majority of nuclear-free nations by moving on from Trident. MPs should be thinking long and hard about whether they want to commit the UK to spending up to £205bn on this weapons system. When the vote comes I hope that a majority will join me in voting against Trident renewal.”

ENDS

[1] http://www.cnduk.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2447&Itemid=26 

Contact: Matthew Butcher on 07885 459 904 or clucasmedia@parliament.uk 

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