Would you be prepared to press the button?

[Thunder Bolt]

What would be the point if it would only be a retaliation? Everyone in the country would be dead anyway.

There is no button. The pm writes a letter which is kept in the submarines in case we are attacked.

Rubbish.

 

[ferring seagull]

I dont think that any administration in the UK would ever consider a pre-emptive strike but, in response to incoming missiles

That is where we would be but we would only have a short time frame in which to react ( 2-4 minutes)

That is why a nuclear war is (hopefully) unlikely as it would destroy everything in or around target areas most certainly both major cities and strategic targets.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

If a significant chunk of Russia's 3,000 nuclear warheads have landed here, I really couldn't care less whether we were able to 'retaliate' or not. Whats the POINT?

Indeed.

At that time deterence has failed, so what is the POINT.

I have a high belief though that deterence wouldn't fail, so we'd never get to that position.

 

[ferring seagull]

I dont think that any administration in the UK would ever consider a pre-emptive strike but, in response to incoming missiles

That is where we would be but we would only have a short time frame in which to react ( 2-4 minutes)

That is why a nuclear war is (hopefully) unlikely as it would destroy everything in or around target areas most certainly both major cities and strategic targets.

But that is why we have a nuclear detterent !

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

I'm a supporter of having a nuclear deterrent but still naively hope that all nuclear weapons might be decommissioned within my lifetime - however the chances of that look as remote as ever. I'm old enough to remember the Cuba crisis and like to think that the nuclear powers would show similar restraint, maybe not. However there are now too many rogue states to feel assured that the world would be significantly safer.

Anyway I'm more concerned at the consequences of a nuclear accident, starting with the power stations along the French coast - and SE England nicely downwind of them....... Plus it seems that we're going to let the Chinese fund or maybe even build our new nuclear power stations, which doesn't fill me with confidence. Not forgetting all the redundant nuclear plants and weapons materials that will need to be processed and kept secure for hundreds of years. Several more generations will have to ponder that one.

 

[Prince Monolulu]

Anyone see The Box? Not quite as serious but morally challenging. Geezer knocks on the door of some woman, offers her this box with a big, shiny red button in it. He informs her if she presses it, someone, somewhere whom she does not know will die. If she does, she gets a cool million bucks.

 

[Bry Nylon]

Just suppose - in a parallel universe - Labour win the next election and Corbyn becomes PM.

All Prime Ministers have to sign a letter in their first week in office, giving authority to their deputy to order a nuclear strike should the situation arise, if the PM is incapacitated or abroad.

So we also need to know what Tom Watson's stance is on this.

 

[Hampster Gull]

Leading question from a leftie

 

[JC Footy Genius]

Just suppose - in a parallel universe - Labour win the next election and Corbyn becomes PM.

All Prime Ministers have to sign a letter in their first week in office, giving authority to their deputy to order a nuclear strike should the situation arise, if the PM is incapacitated or abroad.

So we also need to know what Tom Watson's stance is on this.

My parallel universe stance is ........