David Cameron entered a diplomatic row last night as he equated the future threat from China with that from Iran. David Miliband was quick to condemn the remarks.
David Cameron entered a diplomatic row during the leaders’ debate last night as he equated the future threat from China with that from Iran. Foreign Secretary David Miliband was quick to condemn the move.
During the debate, speaking in defence of the Conservative party policy to “renew britain’s submarine-based nuclear deterrent, based on the Trident missile system”, David Cameron said:
“Are we really happy to say that we’d give up our independent nuclear deterrent when we don’t know what is going to happen with Iran, we can’t be certain of the future in China?”
Watch it:
Foreign Secretary David Miliband was quick to condemn Cameron’s words:
“To put China and Iran in the same bracket is an insult to a follow permanent member of the UN security council and to a country with whom we have just announced a close strategic relationship. David Cameron should withdraw this slur now.”
The Conservatives issued a statement: “David Cameron was demonstrating the extent of uncertainties in the world, not saying China is a threat to the U.K.”
Scrapping Trident would not mean losing an independent nuclear deterrent. As Nick Clegg made clear on the Today programme last week, “you could equip the Astute submarine”. Left Foot Forward has estimated that £45 billion could be saved through this approach.
UPDATE 12.55:
Anna Chen writes for Labour List:
“Is Cameron seriously equating China with “rogue state” Iran? May I ask you in your saner moments, David (assuming you have any): with all the money they’re pouring into saving our sorry skint skins, why would China want to nuke its own investment?”
UPDATE 19.04:
Mike Ion has an interesting take on why “the scrapping of Trident could end up being a vote winner and not a vote loser.”
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers and to make the biggest impact we can in the next general election, we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 124 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.
33 Responses to “David Cameron sees reds under the bed”
Bill Kristol-Balls
Let’s Bomb Russia (40 secs ins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcSmnBfMhRE&feature=PlayList&p=87A1E30986FAEB58&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=53
I Agree With Nick
Anon E Mouse
Will – Divide the cost of Trident by the length of time it lasts and the yearly interest alone on Gordon Browns reckless spending would buy Trident four times over.
Furthermore after serving seven years on it’s forerunner Polaris I can tell you we really need a nuclear deterrent.
This is old Labour CND type political suggestion and Nick Clegg needs to grow up – he may hold the balance of power in three weeks.
Alan W
DevonChap – You’re missing the point. Whether or not China could conceivably become a hostile power at some point in the future is irrelevant.
It’s all very well for think-tanks and MoD analysts to quietly speculate along those lines, but Cameron could be PM in less than a month’s time. As such he should not be making statements that risk pointlessly antagonising a country as politically and economically important as China. As a statesman it’s usually a bad idea to blurt out what you think.
In any case I have a suspiscion he probably intended to say North Korea rather than China, and just slipped up. Presumably his campaign advisers reckon it would be more embarrassing to admit their man got his countries mixed up, than to issue a backtracking clarification.
Jonathan Taylor
Cameron's scaremongering about the threat posed by China shows he'd be a liability on the world stage.. #SameOldTories http://bit.ly/br2viW
Political Scrapbook
The two big gaffes from Dave last night –> Reds under the bed http://is.gd/bvrRj & Dodgy cancer stats http://is.gd/bvrUl (via @leftfootfwd)