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| Trident divisions overshadow final day at Labour conference | Trident divisions overshadow final day at Labour conference |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| The final day of the Labour conference has been overshadowed by a row over nuclear weapons, after the shadow defence secretary criticised Jeremy Corbyn for saying he would instruct defence chiefs never to use the Trident system. | |
| In a sign of deep divisions over Trident in the shadow cabinet, Maria Eagle described the Labour leader’s comments as unhelpful – prompting a rebuke from Diane Abbott, the shadow development secretary. Sir Paul Kenny, the general secretary of the GMB union, said he also disagreed with Corbyn. | In a sign of deep divisions over Trident in the shadow cabinet, Maria Eagle described the Labour leader’s comments as unhelpful – prompting a rebuke from Diane Abbott, the shadow development secretary. Sir Paul Kenny, the general secretary of the GMB union, said he also disagreed with Corbyn. |
| The Labour leader responded to the row by intensifying his campaign against nuclear weapons by claiming that the thousands of weapons held by the US proved to be of no use on 9/11. He told the BBC: “Listen, the nuclear weapons the US holds – all the hundreds, if not thousands of weapons they have got, were no help to them on 9/11. The issues are threats of irrational acts by individuals.” | |
| The row erupted on Wednesday morning, when the Labour leader told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 that he would effectively disarm on the day he became prime minister by making it clear to generals that he would never authorise the use of Trident. Asked if he would use nuclear weapons, he said no. | The row erupted on Wednesday morning, when the Labour leader told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 that he would effectively disarm on the day he became prime minister by making it clear to generals that he would never authorise the use of Trident. Asked if he would use nuclear weapons, he said no. |
| Related: Tories can no longer take Labour’s Trident support for granted | Related: Tories can no longer take Labour’s Trident support for granted |
| The Labour leader added: “There are five declared nuclear weapon states in the world. There are three others that have nuclear weapons. That is eight countries out of 192; 187 countries do not feel the need to have nuclear weapons to protect their security. Why should those five need them to protect their security? We are not in the cold war any more. | The Labour leader added: “There are five declared nuclear weapon states in the world. There are three others that have nuclear weapons. That is eight countries out of 192; 187 countries do not feel the need to have nuclear weapons to protect their security. Why should those five need them to protect their security? We are not in the cold war any more. |
| “I don’t think we should be spending £100bn on renewing Trident. That is a quarter of our defence budget. There are many in the military that do not want Trident renewed because they see it as an obsolete thing thing they don’t need. They would much rather see it spent on conventional weapons.” | “I don’t think we should be spending £100bn on renewing Trident. That is a quarter of our defence budget. There are many in the military that do not want Trident renewed because they see it as an obsolete thing thing they don’t need. They would much rather see it spent on conventional weapons.” |
| The shadow defence secretary, a supporter of Trident, criticised Corbyn’s remarks. Eagle told the BBC: “I think it undermines to some degree our attempt to try and get a policy process going. As far as I am concerned, we start from the policy we have. I don’t think that a potential prime minister answering a question like that in the way he did is helpful.” | The shadow defence secretary, a supporter of Trident, criticised Corbyn’s remarks. Eagle told the BBC: “I think it undermines to some degree our attempt to try and get a policy process going. As far as I am concerned, we start from the policy we have. I don’t think that a potential prime minister answering a question like that in the way he did is helpful.” |
| Abbott tweeted: | |
| Sir Paul Kenny suggested that Corbyn would have to consider resigning if he refused to support Trident if Labour was still formally committed to the programme. Kenny told The World at One on BBC Radio 4: “Then he’s got a choice to make in terms of whether he followed the defence policy of the country, or felt that he should resign. His integrity would drive his decision one way or another.” Andy Burnham, the shadow home secretary, said he would find it difficult to stay in the shadow cabinet if the party decided to end its support for Trident. | |
| The open defiance by Eagle, who has been instructed by Corbyn to lead a review into Trident, shows that the shadow cabinet faces a bumpy ride after the Labour leader told the conference that he would use his mandate to change the party’s position. | The open defiance by Eagle, who has been instructed by Corbyn to lead a review into Trident, shows that the shadow cabinet faces a bumpy ride after the Labour leader told the conference that he would use his mandate to change the party’s position. |
| Corbyn failed in a bid earlier this week to hold a vote to change Labour’s position on Trident. The party is committed to multilateral. rather than unilateral, disarmament. | Corbyn failed in a bid earlier this week to hold a vote to change Labour’s position on Trident. The party is committed to multilateral. rather than unilateral, disarmament. |
| The Labour leader later told ITV News that he would “live with, somehow” a decision by Labour not to support his position on unilateral nuclear disarmament. | |
| “If I can persuade the whole of the Labour party to come round to my point of view, I would be very, very happy indeed. I will do my best,” he told ITV News. | |
| But asked whether he would concede defeat if he fails to change party policy, Corbyn said: “If I can’t, we’ll live with it somehow.” | |
| Corbyn’s intervention suggests that he could become prime minister as leader of a party which officially supports the Trident programme. | |
| But he would personally have the ability to embark on an effective disarmament on his first day in office in No 10 because the prime minister is the sole person who exercises the royal prerogative – the monarch’s power to wage war and sign treaties. Corbyn has suggested he would decline to authorise the use of Trident in the two circumstances envisaged under the arrangements in place since the cold war. | |
| Related: Jeremy Corbyn: I would never use nuclear weapons if I were PM | Related: Jeremy Corbyn: I would never use nuclear weapons if I were PM |
| In the first instance, based on the assumption that the UK is still a functioning state, the chief of the defence staff recommends to the prime minister that nuclear weapons should be launched from a Vanguard submarine, one of which is always on patrol. | In the first instance, based on the assumption that the UK is still a functioning state, the chief of the defence staff recommends to the prime minister that nuclear weapons should be launched from a Vanguard submarine, one of which is always on patrol. |
| Without the prime minister’s authorisation an attack could not be launched because they are the sole person who exercises the royal prerogative – the monarch’s power to wage war and sign treaties. | Without the prime minister’s authorisation an attack could not be launched because they are the sole person who exercises the royal prerogative – the monarch’s power to wage war and sign treaties. |
| The second instance is based on the assumption that the UK is no longer a functioning state. In such circumstances, signalled when BBC Radio 4 can no longer be heard, the commander of the submarine on patrol would would take out a sealed letter from a safe, written by the prime minister, instructing them on what to do. | |
| The letter is written on the day the prime minister is appointed. Corbyn’s remarks suggest he would write to the commanders of the four submarines not to launch any strikes. | The letter is written on the day the prime minister is appointed. Corbyn’s remarks suggest he would write to the commanders of the four submarines not to launch any strikes. |