Cost of Trident

Sir Keir Starmer was the first Labour leader in three decades to visit the Barrow shipyard where Britain’s next generation of nuclear submarines are being assembled. The Prime Minister, on the opposition benches at the time, was unflinching in his support for the UK’s submarines-based nuclear deterrent – a continuous at-sea presence that the Royal Navy has maintained since 1969. But while keeping Britain safe may be priceless, being ready for war doesn’t come cheap. Trident, Britain’s nuclear deterrent, gobbles up a significant share of our defence budget, leaving the share devoted to troops and guns far below the 2pc Nato baseline. While the Treasury said in October that its commitment to the UK’s nuclear deterrent was “absolute”, many have warned that costs are spiralling out of control, piling more pressure on a Chancellor who is already struggling to balance the books.