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Publish Date : 17-Mar-2015

In a move that could help clear the way to a post-election deal with the SNP, shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, has announced that Labour will consider reducing the number of the nuclear submarines in Britain. He said tough questions would have to be answered in the next defence review, including whether the work could be done with three instead of four boats, although the party was committed to a continuous at-sea deterrent.

The SNP has pledged to scrap Trident, however, the party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, said it might not be a hurdle to a deal with Labour. Sturgeon said a deal could be done on a vote-by-vote basis.
The shadow chancellor said the renewal of Trident did not necessarily mean having 4 boats.

Balls said : "It may well mean four boats – that's what our strategic defence review will look at. We will look to see if there are ways in which we can make savings in the procurement process. Of course, if I'm going to government, I’m going to challenge the strategic defence review to answer that question in the toughest way – that if it turns out the only way strategically to deliver continuous[ly] at sea is four boats, then absolutely we will have four boats. But my job is to ask those questions and, therefore, we’re going to challenge to see whether there’s any way you could do it with three rather than four. I think many of the experts think in the end not, but it’s a good thing for us to do, to ask the difficult questions."

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