SCOTTISH Labour found itself slapped down by the UK party yesterday after shadow defence secretary Maria Eagle said the conference vote to scrap Trident would have no impact on current Labour policy, which is in favour of renewing the nuclear weapons system.
In a radio interview, Eagle insisted the party’s policy remained, as it was at the General Election, to acquire a like-for- like replacement for the ageing Trident submarine fleet.
She hinted that a review of Labour defence policy – which she is leading – was unlikely to be completed before a Commons vote on the issue expected next year.
Her comments came after party leader Jeremy Corbyn – a long-standing campaigner for nuclear disarmament – welcomed the overwhelming vote by the Scottish Labour Party conference on Sunday against Trident renewal and after senior figures in the Scottish party said the result would feed into the policy review.
However, Eagle – who like many Labour MPs supports the continuation of the system – said the vote was only one “input” into the policy-making process, which ultimately would be set at the UK national level.
“This does not change our policy,” she told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One. “Defence isn’t a devolved matter so Labour Party policy has to be set at a national party level, at a UK level.”
“Our policy is quite clear, it’s as it was at the General Election: it is in favour of procuring the successor submarines.”
She made clear she would not be rushed into completing her review – leaving open the prospect that the party’s official position will be unchanged when the Commons comes to vote on Trident renewal, even though Corbyn is opposed.
The Scottish Government, which is opposed to renewal, will today lead a debate on Trident in Holyrood which SNP MSP Bill Kidd said he hoped would be a chance “for Scotland’s national parliament to send a loud and clear message to Westminster that we oppose another generation of weapons of mass destruction based north of the Border”.
Kidd said that while he welcomed the Scottish Labour vote against renewal, Eagle’s response made clear the party north of the Border had no influence over the reserved matter.
“We welcome Scottish Labour’s conference vote opposing the renewal of Trident – but the truth is that unless they can convince their colleagues at Westminster to vote against renewal in the Commons, their decision will be utterly meaningless,” Kidd said.
“We now have an absurd situation where the leader of Labour in Scotland supports the renewal of Trident but leads a party that opposes it – while the party’s UK leader is opposed to renewal but leads a party that supports it. Labour’s position on Trident is a shambolic, incoherent and chaotic mess.”
Yesterday, Gary Smith, acting Scotland secretary for the GMB union, which voted in favour of a replacement system, said workers, such as those at Faslane where the UK’s nuclear submarine fleet is based, were “very disappointed” at the result of the vote.
The National View: Branch office slapped down by London again
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