The biggest risk to our national security?

According to an article in this morning's Telegraph about the future of Trident funding, John Woodcock, the Labour MP for Barrow and Furness, has warned the Government about the potential impact of cuts to the MOD's budget on the military and shipbuilding industry. He commented:

It is alarming that George Osborne is intent on ditching the commitment to proper funding for renewing our deterrent made by the last Labour government. The new Chancellor seems intoxicated by his new power to threaten colleagues with unrealistic and unwise spending contractions.

He had better grow out of this soon or he will do lasting damage to our national security and the drivers of future economic growth.

It is in Barrow, of course, that the latest addition to the Navy's Submarine Fleet, the Astute Class, is being manufactured, while the Vanguard Class, the UK's ballistic missile submarine (which launches Trident), was also built here. Nevertheless, while Mr Woodcock is right to raise this issue, I think his ire is misplaced. While his party did indeed renew our deterrent, it was not so long ago that members of his own Shadow Cabinet were card carrying members of the CND. Had their views not been decisively rejected, lasting damage would have already been done to our national security.

It is the Conservative Party that has consistently supported and defended the UK's independent nuclear deterrent. And it is this Coalition Government which will ensure that the submarine-based deterrent will remain at the heart of our nation's defence. By contrast, it was the former Labour government that continually deferred a Strategic Defence Review (the last was in 1998) that might have laid this issue to rest. While cuts are needed and the dialogue between Liam Fox and George Osborne will doubtless continue, in general Mr Woodcock can rest easy for the foreseeable future under the Coalition - though of course he may want to check the views of some of his colleagues who may still be carrying their old membership cards! They represent the biggest risk to Trident and Britain's security.

UPDATE: Had to post to add this gem of a quote from Menzies Campbell via the Guardian (my italics):

Maybe it's the shape of the missiles but every time Trident is mentioned there is an outbreak of priapism on the Tory backbenchers. There is a real risk that the whole strategic defence review will be skewed because of the obsession with Trident. It makes no sense whatsoever to exclude Trident, the strategic deterrent, from a proper strategic review.

Ooh err...