JEREMY Corbyn could be about to start another bruising battle in the Labour Party over the Trident nuclear deterrent, based at Faslane naval base on the Clyde.
Fabian Hamilton, the Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament, said he has persuaded the Labour leader to share plans for unilaterally getting rid of the UK’s nuclear weapons with cabinet.
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Although Corbyn has already said he would never use Trident if he enters Downing Street, the party’s official policy is to support renewal of the weapons system.
But not in Scotland, where party members voted to scrap the weapons at their conference in 2015. Richard Leonard, however, supports the weapons.
He, like the trade unions, is opposed to scrapping Trident fearing it could lead to the loss of thousands of well paid jobs.
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In an interview with the Yorkshire Post, Hamilton said Corbyn has seen a 25-page initial framework for a “peace doctrine” which includes the proposals, and has agreed to put it to Shadow Cabinet Ministers including Shadow Defence Secretary Nia Griffith and Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry for consultation.
He told the paper: “I have always said party policy says we should renew Trident but I say we should scrap it.
“That is also the view of the leader of the party.”
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The Trident upgrade programme will replace the four current Vanguard submarines which carry the UK’s nuclear missiles with a new class of four submarines, known as Successor. It has been approved by Parliament and is not expected to be complete until the early 2030s.
Tory Defence Minister Stuart Andrew described the plans as “foolish and dangerous”.
“At a time when the world is facing threats from various sources, the Labour Party are showing the real danger they pose to our security by scrapping our deterrent that has kept us safe for decades.”
The SNP have called on Scottish Labour to make their position on Trident renewal clear.
MSP Bill Kidd said: “Labour is hopelessly at odds on any number of issues – from Brexit to Trident – and the growing divide in the party is becoming clearer by the day.
“Labour’s policy on Trident is all over the place. It is completely and utterly incoherent, and this latest intervention leaves their position as clear as mud.”
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