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

Britain should have a completely independent nuclear deterrent because it can no longer rely on the United States, Ed Davey is expected to say on Sunday.

In a speech to the Liberal Democrats’ spring conference, the party leader will argue that the UK should manufacture and maintain its nuclear weapons in Britain, a move which Davey acknowledges will cost billions.

Davey’s speech comes as he claims US President Donald Trump has conditioned his support for European security on his personal whims.

“As long as Trump is in charge, we certainly can’t count on America as a reliable ally like we did before,” Davey will say. “And we can no longer stake our nation’s security on the hope that the United States will not produce new versions of Trump in the future.

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

In theory, a British prime minister could choose to launch nuclear missiles without the participation of its allies, including the United States.

However, Britain’s Trident nuclear program, based at Faslane, near Glasgow, on the River Clyde, is heavily dependent on American input. The weapons are manufactured in the United States and must be returned regularly for maintenance.

Davey’s speech is likely to be seen as the latest installment in what has been dubbed Operation Epsom Fury – a play on Trump’s Iran mission and an attempt to appeal to voters disillusioned with Britain’s relationship with the president in the run-up to local elections in May.

“If the answer to the question “Is our nuclear deterrent working?” It depends on what Donald Trump ate for breakfast, so the answer is, “No, it didn’t.” And our deterrent is not truly independent,” Davey is expected to tell delegates in York.

“This should keep Britain’s defense planners up at night. Yet this question is not asked enough in our public debate. Perhaps because pro-Tory and Reform commentators are unwilling to confront the profound implications of Trump.

“Our nuclear deterrent – ​​the ultimate guarantor of our national security, what successive governments of all stripes have described as the bedrock of British defense – is not entirely ours.

“The Trident missiles aboard our Vanguard submarines are leased from the United States. Their maintenance depends on American facilities. And that means that the operability of our deterrent ultimately depends on the goodwill of whoever sits in the Oval Office.

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

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

“He and his White House lackeys made it clear, repeatedly and unequivocally, that American support for European security was conditional,” Davey will say. “As long as European countries do what Trump wants, whether on trade, relations with China or simply being nice to him. Certainly nothing to do with the values ​​and alliances that have kept us safe for 80 years.”

Davey is expected to admit that building a nuclear capability without U.S. contributions “would cost billions over the next two decades,” at a time when defense spending is already under pressure.

However, he will add that instead of “giving billions of hard-earned taxpayers’ money to the US defense and technology industry”, the money should be invested in the UK.

“Let’s invest in British science and industry, grow our defense industry and ensure a fully independent deterrent that we can truly rely on, no matter who sits in the Oval Office,” he will say.

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

However, Davey will say: “With Vladimir Putin sitting on a stockpile of more than 5,000 nuclear warheads, we must face the world as it is. Trump’s reckless and unpredictable presidency – and the reality that we can no longer rely on America in the way we once thought – is a challenge we cannot ignore.”