Interesting how times have changed but the longevity of the debate about retaining strategic nuclear weapons is resurfacing.  This is driven by two things, the first is the rise of two political parties that seriously oppose the UK’s ownership of these weapons. The Green Party and SNP both have manifesto commitments based on their supporters views that we should not retain these weapons.

The proposal is now about replacement and times change. I remember going to school on the days they tested the air raid sirens, I remember helping my Dad undertake his Civil Defence training, we still had a Civil Defence air raid reaction organisation of volunteers, I tell these stories to remind myself of the reality of a nuclear threat that the Cold War with the Soviet Union posed.

Strategic weapons are not the only nuclear weapons possessed by the British armed forces; the nuclear depth charges were removed from the surface vessels that carried them on their way to the Falklands in 1982. This illustrates the inflexible nature of their use and having nukes didn’t help us in negotiating any agreement over Hong Kong.

CND again?

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