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We may not have cash for Trident, says Cameron
Joe Murphy30.04.09
David Cameron put a question mark over the future of the Trident nuclear deterrent today.
The Tory leader said he could not guarantee that a future Conservative government would have enough money because of the recession.
At a press conference he also refused to guarantee another major strategic defence project - the commissioning of two Royal Navy aircraft carriers.
He backed them in principle but said: "That doesn't mean in these difficult circumstances that you don't have to look - just as you are looking across government - at all of these things."
His remarks came after former shadow home secretary David Davis called for Tory "sacred cows" including Trident to be reviewed.
"There is no firmer advocate of nuclear deterrent than me, but even I have some difficulty seeing the justification for a wholesale upgrade of Trident," Mr Davis wrote in the Financial Times.
The apparent Tory shift - warning voters of spending cuts needed to rescue public finances - caused consternation in the defence industry. Ian Godden, chief executive of the Society of British Aerospace Companies, said: "Security threats do not go away just because the country is in recession."
He warned that suppliers who employ 300,000 people in Britain could not make investment decisions with such uncertainty. "It is time for the Conservatives to make their intentions clear," he said.
A spokesman for Mr Cameron said he backed a nuclear deterrent in principle but had to consider what form would deliver the best value for money.
In other remarks, the Tory leader said he would examine whether benefits should be paid to people earning £50,000. He also dismissed forging closer links to Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg.
Reader views (11)
Brian - according to the Treasury defence spending as a percentage of GDP has halved over the last twenty years to around 2.3 per cent. In contrast during the same period, spending on health has grown from 4.6 per cent to 7.2 per cent of GDP.
Michael - how much has already been spent on the railways and what good did it do? The article says that 300,000 people work in defence in the UK putting our troops as their number 1 priority. Their jobs are on the line here too. The industry also brings in £9bn a year in exports - can you do without that as well? That's a lot of jobs & money in balance of trade terms to give up in a recession.
- Kabri, Essex
Do we need trident? i believe the money would be better spent on police, hospitals, schools, transport etc etc.
I mean who are we going to use this weapon against? terrorists? i cannot believe the Labour party commiting itself to it.
- Brian, Wiltshire
Put 21 Billion pounds into the railways and we all see the benefit. Put it into Trident and we simply give it to a bunch of American contractors to buy cheap US houses.
- Michael, London UK
Why is Cameron so keen to drive away traditional Conservative Party supporters? Doing away with our defence capability is a sure way of losing out to more extreme parties.
- John Girling, Sherborne, Dorset
Keith - that uncertainty is almost certainly the result of distrust of almost anything that comes from the government's records and financial projections. GB's fumbling grip on the economy both as a Chancellor and now as PM do not inspire confidence in just about anyone outside the dedicated few who hold their blinkers tightly in place against the swirling whirlwind of reality.
- Rogan, Irving
Sure sure, the US will protect you once again.
Or perhaps not.
Face it folks, the modern world is crumbling under attack from many sides and from within its own governments. Its over. Now go have a pint..
- Trunk, US
Well - it seems in just one generation we have thrown away all that supposedly fought for in WW2. Let's just hand over our seat at the security council to Turkey and reform the Home Guard.
All we have left is space and defence industries - what are all those university gradutate do - flip burgers in McDonalds
- Gandalf, B'mouth , Dorset
Evening Keith, even you should realise that the leader of the opposition doesn't know this because the Chancellor and Prime Minister do not seem to have any idea of the extent of the National Debt. Any figure quoted by Brown's darling Darling, has been greeted with derision by the world's leading financial institutions. If this Govt can't issue accurate figures how on earth can anyone else be expected to know what should be blindingly obvious to those currently in charge!
- Alan, carlisle uk
As we do as the Americans do, let the US pay, or at least contribute significantly, to the cost of Trident. If we don't go ahead with the missiles, due to cash shortage as the piece says, I'm sure the US will soon be in there with offers of help-after all, they assist Israel's military spending to the tune of 30BN dollars a year...
- Jon Kent, Hertford. UK
In the future this country will not even be building it's own Nuclear Power Stations.NuLabour has sold us out and this job will be undertaken by the French and German Power Companies.What is now the point of us building Nuclear Bombs?
- Stan White, leeds
Why doesn't the leader of the opposition know this? This is a weakness in their party
- Keith Price, Luton, England
