Trident, jobs – and the UK economy
Executive summary
A decision to initiate design work on the replacement for Britain’s Trident submarine based
nuclear weapons system is due to be taken by the end of this year – 2010. This
report examines the employment consequences of this decision. It considers the latest
figures on the cost of Trident replacement as well as the running costs of the existing
and replacement systems. It does so in the context of the Strategic Defence and Security Review,
due to be published in October 2010, that has been tasked to propose cuts in existing defence
budgets of up to 20 per cent and, contrary to previous government assumptions, to include within
that reduced budget full provision for the cost of Trident replacement.