The high cost of the V boats is one side of the coin, but the flip side is possibly more significant. Trident buys us our seat as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and allows us the luxury of a veto ! Somehow I suspect that we may be relegated to second class status if we do away with ICBMs. As I understand it the US have no plans for a Trident replacement and UK plc certainly cannot afford to go it alone; thus, we will be faced with the choices already discussed on this thread somewhere in the not too distant future. IMHO the government of the day will look at the cost, make savings elsewhere within the defence budget to ensure their continuing presence as a permanent member of the UNSC. Call me cynical, but I cannot see any of our politicians giving away the right to veto UNSC resolutions..............
BT