Former shadow Defence minister Kevan Jones hit out at the Labour leader for failing to back party policy.
Advertisement
Britain has four nuclear-armed submarines which patrol global waters.
May said “the nuclear threat has not gone away; if anything, it has increased”, with a newly assertive Russian Federation and a desire from countries including North Korea to acquire nuclear weapons in defiance of the global community.
The government motion has the backing of Parliament’s Conservative majority and is nearly certain to pass. But the debate has stirred strong emotions – and split the opposition Labour Party.
Members of the British parliament have strongly voted to renew the country’s ageing nuclear weapons system, a multibillion-dollar project regarded as key to maintaining the country’s status as a world power following its vote to leave the European Union.
In the House of Common, lawmakers approved the construction of four new submarines to carry the existing Trident missile system and their nuclear warheads, at a cost of £41 billion (49 billion euros, $54 billion).
While both Clive Lewis, the Shadow Defence Secretary, and Emily Thornberry, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, were among the 40 Labour MPs to abstain, Corbyn came under public criticism in the chamber for how he had chose to vote, which many claimed went against Labour’s own policy on the issue.
The SNP is set to vote against the renewal of the nuclear missiles later today, while the Scottish Labour party also wants to get rid of Trident.
May, however, confirmed that she would be prepared to “push the button” on a strike if it were necessary to protect the country.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is a lifelong opponent of nuclear weapons, at the head of a party which supports keeping them.
The nuclear fleet is based at Clyde in Scotland, whose MPs voted against renewing the £40-billion project.
John Woodcock, in whose Barrow and Furness constituency the new boats will be built, said: “For the official opposition to have a free vote on a matter of such strategic national importance is a awful indictment of how far this once great party has fallen”.
SNP MP George Kerevan said: “Is she prepared to authorise a nuclear strike that would kill hundreds of thousands of men women and children?”
In a swipe at Mr Corbyn, Mrs May said: “Some people suggest to us that we should actually be removing our nuclear deterrent”.
Advertisement
The debate on Trident opened with Theresa May’s first appearance at the dispatch box as Prime Minister.
