Trident replacement.
Tony Blair has told the House of Commons that the UK will retain its independent nuclear deterrent, by renewing the submarine-based Trident missile system (The Times).
The Guardian has the full text of Blair's speech in the Commons which is essentially an announcement of the policy in principle, prior to a detailed debate over the exact nature the deterrent will take. In tandem with the speech, the detailed policy options are published as a white paper, (downloadable here as pdf) The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent: Defence White Paper 2006 (Cm6994).
The Ministry of Defence also has various fact sheets relating to the policy.
So while the left squawk like hell, stamp their feet and generally carry on cranky, the grown-ups will read the fine detail of the white paper and see what the government is actually proposing and how it compares with the off the record briefings the Times has been receiving from ministers.
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