[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-504887-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-504887-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","trident-the-deal-isnt-done-serious-questions-remain-unanswered","Trident: The Deal Isn’t Done - Serious Questions Remain Unanswered","","Briefing paper from the Bradford Disarmament Research Centre examining the UK’s decision to replace the Trident nuclear weapon system. It explains the 2006 White Paper and 2007 parliamentary vote to retain nuclear deterrence into the 2050s, detailing the Vanguard submarines and Trident II (D5) missile system and disputed timelines. The text frames the debate around strategic nuclear threats, deterrence logic, UK-US relations, NPT obligations, party identity, cost, and implications for disarmament and accountability.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/trident-the-deal-isnt-done-serious-questions-remain-unanswered/504887/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/trident-the-deal-isnt-done-serious-questions-remain-unanswered/504887.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Bintang","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-15","2026-10-04",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",8,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What decision did the Labour Government make regarding Trident in 2006?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"In December 2006 it presented a decision to replace the current Trident system when it reaches the end of its service life, effectively opting to retain nuclear weapons into the 2050s.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the Trident system described in the briefing work?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It comprises nuclear warheads carried by Trident II (D5) ballistic missiles aboard Vanguard-class submarines; warheads and submarines are British built with design assistance from America, while missiles are American designed and built.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Which issues does the briefing say inform the decision to replace Trident?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It lists political and strategic factors including future nuclear threats, deterrence logic, relations with America, NPT considerations, Labour Party political identity, replacement costs, European security concepts, industrial pressures, and Britain’s international role.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},504887,1791163177,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":55,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":117,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":104},962085564381,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","Trident: The Deal Isn’t Done Serious Questions Remain Unanswered  \nDr. Nick Ritchie  \nBradf o r d Disarmament R e sear ch Centre  \nDepartment of Peace Studies : University of Bradford : December 2007  \nAbout this briefing  \nThis briefing paper is the first in a series to published through 2007 and 2008 as part of the Bradford Disarmament Research Centre’s programme on “Nuclear-armed Britain: A Critical Examination of Trident Modernisation, Implications and Accountability”. The programme has been generously funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. To find out more please [visit](visit www.brad.ac.uk/acad/bdrc/nuclear/trident/trident.html)[ www.brad.ac.uk/acad/bdrc/nuclear/trident/trident.html](visit www.brad.ac.uk/acad/bdrc/nuclear/trident/trident.html).  \nAbout the author  \nNick Ritchie is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford. He is lead researcher on the “Nuclear-armed Britain” programme. He previously worked for six years as a researcher at the Oxford Research Group on global security issues, in particular nuclear proliferation, arms control and disarmament. His PhD thesis examined the evolution of US nuclear weapons policy from 1990-2004. Recent publications include The Political Road to War with Iraq with Paul Rogers (Routledge, 2007), Replacing Trident: Britain, America and Nuclear Weapons, Contemporary Security Policy, Vol. 28 No. 2 (August 2007), and Replacing Trident: Who Will Make the Decisions and How? (Oxford Research Group report, August 2006) .  \nAcknowledgments  \nThe author would like to thank the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Paul Rogers, Malcolm Dando and Simon Whitby for their support and comments. The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Peace Studies or the University of Bradford.  \nCopyright ©University of Bradford 2007  \nPrinted and bound in the United Kingdom by Inprint + Design Ltd., University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire.  \nTrident : The Deal Isn’t Done  \nSerious Questions Remain Unanswered   \nDr. Nick Ritchie  \nDecember 2007  \nBradford Disarmament Research Centre  \nDepartment of Peace Studies University of Bradford  \nBradford, UK  \nTrident: The Deal Isn’t Done DRAFT – NOT FOR CITING  \n1. Constructing the debate  \nThe Trident programme is “unacceptably expensive, economically wasteful and militarily unsound”  \nGordon Brown MP, 19841  \nIn December 2006 the Labour Government presented its decision to replace the current Trident nuclear weapon system when it reaches the end of its service life in a White Paper on “The Future of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Deterrent”, effectively opting to retain nuclear weapons well into the 2050s. 2 In March 2007 Parliament voted in favour of this decision. The system, which is Britain’s only nuclear weapon system, comprises nuclear warheads carried by Trident II (D5) ballistic missiles aboard Vanguard-class nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines. The warheads and submarines are British built but with substantial design assistance from America. The Trident missiles are American designed and built. The UK has purchased 58 missiles for its four Vanguard submarines from a common fleet maintained in America.  \nA decision was said to be needed in 2007 because the submarines carrying the missiles are aging and need to be replaced if Britain was to continue to deploy the Trident missile over the long-term. The Government’s timeline has been disputed.3 The issue sparked a fresh debate in Britain on the utility of nuclear weapons, the relevance of nuclear deterrence to British security, and the future of nuclear arms control and disarmament initiatives. The Government sought to address these issues in its December 2006 White Paper and subsequent statements that set out the case for retaining nuclear weapons and building a new fleet of submarines.  \nThe decision to replace Trident has been informed by a number of politic","cbCaigehAUMg3suM","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigehAUMg3suM","pdf",631110,"English","# Constructing the debate","[{\"question\":\"What decision did the Labour Government make regarding Trident in 2006?\",\"answer\":\"In December 2006 it presented a decision to replace the current Trident system when it reaches the end of its service life, effectively opting to retain nuclear weapons into the 2050s.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the Trident system described in the briefing work?\",\"answer\":\"It comprises nuclear warheads carried by Trident II (D5) ballistic missiles aboard Vanguard-class submarines; warheads and submarines are British built with design assistance from America, while missiles are American designed and built.\"},{\"question\":\"Which issues does the briefing say inform the decision to replace Trident?\",\"answer\":\"It lists political and strategic factors including future nuclear threats, deterrence logic, relations with America, NPT considerations, Labour Party political identity, replacement costs, European security concepts, industrial pressures, and Britain’s international role.\"}]","Trident: The Deal Isn’t Done - Serious Questions Remain Unanswered | PDF",1791077446]