JEREMY Corbyn faces a backbench rebellion on Trident next week with Labour MPs set to vote against a motion calling for the nuclear weapons programme to be scrapped.
SNP MPs have forced the motion during an opposition day debate in the Commons.
Although all SNP MPs will vote for the motion and the majority of Tory MPs will vote against, the Labour leadership have made it a one-line whip and have effectively encouraging their MPs to abstain.
SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson said: “Trident renewal is one of the biggest issues for this parliament and it is important that proper time and consideration is given to debate.
“It is increasingly difficult to know where the Labour Party stands on renewal – the position seems to change from hour to hour.
“The decision to commit to spend up to £167 billion on renewing Trident is an obscene waste of money.
“SNP MPs will use every available opportunity to debate this issue. The SNP will always be resolutely opposed to another generation of nuclear weapons being dumped on the Clyde.
“Trident is a useless Cold War nuclear arsenal that should be consigned to the history books.”
Labour said they would not “engage in political games” with the SNP over the Trident vote and said the party’s position on renewing the nuclear deterrent would be decided by the defence review being undertaken by Maria Eagle and Ken Livingstone.
Jeremy Corbyn, who received 60 per cent of the vote in the party’s leadership election, stood on an anti-nuclear platform.
But the party fought the last election on a manifesto committing to renew the weapon of mass destruction.
Many in Corbyn’s shadow cabinet have made no attempt to disguise their position.
At least seven ministers, including Eagle, Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn and Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham, are in favour of renewal.
An attempt to debate Trident at this year’s party conference failed after Corbyn struggled to get support from trade unions.
In Scotland, the party backed a motion to scrap the submarines.
This new defence review will, Corbyn hopes, see Labour formalise a unilateralist policy.
Corbyn’s spokesman said: “The policy is in review. We are not going to engage in political games.
“That’s not avoiding the issue. We will come to a conclusion about these issues. The party’s position is under review. The issue is subject to that review.”
The SNP are also to use their opposition day debate to tackle the Government on the closure of the HMRC offices in Scotland, where 17 tax offices are set to be replaced by two centres in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
More than 2,000 workers are set to lose their jobs.
Last year during the referendum, the Better Together campaign had warned voters against backing independence because it would lead to HMRC jobs being lost.
Last week when the closures were announced, the SNP’s usiness spokesperson at Westminster Hannah Bardell said: “These closures are shocking and driven by George Osborne’s austerity demands.
“It is dreadful news for all those workers who will lose their jobs and for communities who depend on these offices to do vital work.
“They now face real uncertainty and anxiety purely because of an ideological drive to cut public services by a Westminster government.”
HMRC say they will do “everything it reasonably can” to get sacked workers into new jobs in the civil service.
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