Further Reading
- Emergency motion - Trident
Member News
Delegates in Liverpool are to hold an emergency debate on the future of Trident amid concerns over coalition plans to renew the nuclear deterrent.
A motion calling for the future of Trident to be considered as part of the strategic defence review has been selected for an emergency debate on Wednesday morning.
The Lib Dems and their Conservative coalition partner have different views, with the Lib Dems seeking alternatives to a like-for-like replacement.
Trident was not initially on the agenda for party conference but members have chosen the topic for an emergency debate.
Speaking to BBC One's Andrew Marr show this morning, party leader Nick Clegg said there were very hard choices surrounding the defence budget as the government seeks to bring down the deficit.
He said: "I don't think people would understand why we would sort of exempt Trident from the same financial pressures when people are having some of their benefits qualified in different ways.
"I don't think that would be fair, I don't think that would be reasonable so I think we are looking at this all in the round. You can't keep a whole lot of things on the table but take something else completely off the table. I don't think that's right."
Delegates will debate:
"The exclusion of Trident from the Strategic Defence and Security Review is now untenable; it should be included and receive the scrutiny which strategic, political and financial circumstances demand."
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