The British media has reported that the public are calling for spending to be cut on the Trident nuclear missile system.
In a poll commissioned by the Independent newspaper, 58% of people said they thought the £25bn set aside for the missile system should instead be spent on public health and decreasing the UK’s budget deficit.
The UK opposition – the Liberal Democrats – has already said they will stop the Trident programme if they get in to power next election.
Britain has for some time planned to build a new breed of submarines that could carry the existing Trident missiles multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle submarine-launched missiles designed by Lockheed Martin originally for the US.
It currently has a 260 warhead Trident arsenal, uses Trident on four Royal Navy Vanguard Class submarines and is likely to carry out the length of service of existing submarines if the Trident programme is scrapped.
It is not the first time Trident has come under fire – it was earlier criticised for becoming ‘irrelevant’ and calls had been made for funds to be committed to conventional force activities instead.
By Penny Jones.
