The recent U-turn over the Chancellor’s proposal to raise National Insurance Contributions for the self-employed illustrated the government’s concern at the erosion of the tax base, but also their unwillingness to tackle it if opposed by hard-line Tories and their tabloid press allies.
Despite their breezy public optimism, the Government are understandably alarmed at where the economy and public finances are headed. And if it does then Britain’s departure from the EU may make the case for Trident replacement harder to sustain. But Brexit fall-out may re-surface the issue as one for serious discussion. The proposal to press on with the like-for-like replacement of Trident with four new Dreadnought-class submarines was approved overwhelmingly last July, and they must feel that the debate is now done and dusted. But the divided Labour opposition provided a perfect opportunity for Tory MPs – still shell-shocked from their Brexit civil war – to reunite and score a political victory before the summer holidays.įor Brexiteers, heady with the prospect of Britain recovering its lost glories after breaking the chains of the EU, the case for Global Britain to remain a nuclear power indefinitely is simply self-evident. Six days after becoming Prime Minister last July Theresa May took time out of the chaotic aftermath of the Brexit vote for a House of Commons debate on the replacement of Britain’s aging nuclear deterrent.
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