UK needs nuclear deterrent independent from US, Ed Davey to say | Ed Davey

Ed Davey is expected to say on Sunday that Britain should have a fully independent nuclear deterrent because it can no longer rely on the US.

In his speech to the Liberal Democrats’ spring conference, the party leader will argue that the UK should produce and store its nuclear weapons in Britain, with Davey admitting the move would cost billions of dollars.

Davey’s speech will come amid allegations that US president Donald Trump has made his support for European security “conditional” on his own personal whims.

“With Trump in office, we simply cannot rely on America as a reliable ally,” Davey will say. “And we can no longer bet on our nation’s security in the hope that the United States will not produce new versions of Trump in the future.

“So the question is not whether we should build a sovereign British nuclear deterrent. The question is what happens if we don’t.”

Theoretically, a British prime minister could choose to launch a nuclear missile without any input from its allies, including the United States.

However, the UK’s nuclear program Trident, located at Faslane near Glasgow on the River Clyde, is heavily dependent on US input. The weapons are manufactured in the USA and must be returned there regularly for maintenance.

Davey’s speech will likely be seen as the final chapter in what has been dubbed Operation Epsom Fury, a play on Trump’s Iran mission and an attempt to attract voters disillusioned with Britain’s relationship with the president ahead of local elections in May.

“’Is our nuclear deterrent working?’ If the answer to the question depends on what Donald Trump eats for breakfast, the answer is ‘No, it doesn’t.’ Davey is expected to tell delegates in York: And our deterrence is not truly independent.

“This must be keeping British defense planners awake at night. But it is not being asked loudly enough in our public debates. Perhaps because Conservative and Reform commentators do not want to confront the profound consequences of Trump.”

“Our nuclear deterrent, the ultimate guarantor of our national security, which successive governments of all stripes have identified as the cornerstone of Britain’s defence, is not fully in our hands.

“The Trident missiles on our Vanguard submarines are leased from the United States. Their maintenance depends on American facilities. This means that the functionality of our deterrent ultimately depends on the good will of the person sitting in the Oval Office.”

“A few years ago it didn’t feel like a problem. It certainly feels like it now.”

Davey will point to Trump’s threat to annex Greenland and his apparent failure to take Russian President Vladimir Putin to task over the war in Ukraine as evidence that he is an increasingly unreliable ally.

“He and his lackeys in the White House have made it clear repeatedly and unfailingly that American support for European security is conditional,” Davey would say. “It’s conditioned on European countries doing what Trump wants, whether it’s on trade, dealing with China, or just being nice to it. It has absolutely nothing to do with the values ​​and alliances that have kept us safe for 80 years.”

Davey is expected to concede that building nuclear capacity without US input “will cost billions of dollars over the next two decades” at a time when defense spending is already under pressure.

But he will add that instead of giving billions of taxpayers’ hard-earned money to the American defense and technology industry, this money should be invested in the UK.

“Let’s invest in British science and manufacturing, let’s develop our defense industry and ensure a completely independent deterrent that we can truly rely on, regardless of who sits in the Oval Office,” he will say.

The Liberal Democrats said they remained committed to the goal of multilateral nuclear disarmament.

But Davey will say: “With Vladimir Putin sitting on a stockpile of more than 5,000 nuclear warheads, we must deal with the world as it is. Trump’s reckless, unpredictable presidency, and the fact that we can no longer trust America as we once thought we could, is a challenge we cannot ignore.”