Parliament, where the Conservatives have a majority of 16, is likely to approve renewing the Scottish-based nuclear-armed Trident submarines despite opposition from many lawmakers from the main opposition Labour Party and the pro-independence Scottish National Party.
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She will tell MPs: “It would be a gross irresponsibility to lose the ability to meet such threats by discarding insurance against those risks in the future”.
Deputy Leader Tom Watson has called on MPs to vote in favour.
Second, it provides a clear and convenient opportunity for the new Conservative Prime Minister to set her stall out on foreign and security policy. Many are expected to vote against Corbyn, with the split between the socialist and moderate wings of the party deepening.
“We can not assume that this will be a peaceful world then and there will be no threats, so we have to keep up our defences”.
“The Labour party has to come to a collective decision and we have to do that by way of collecting evidence and considering it in a proper way”, she said.
The vote itself is not binding, but the Government has pledged previously to seek the consent of MPs about renewal.
It consists of four Royal Navy submarines armed with Trident missiles.
However, in response to a freedom of information request from Reuters in March, the ministry said it could not provide any detail of the costs for the nuclear warheads, support services infrastructure and running costs over the system’s expected life.
Three-quarters of Labour MPs backed a vote of no confidence in Corbyn on 28 June, accusing him of lacklustre leadership in the European Union referendum campaign which culminated with many longtime Labour voters in underprivileged areas defying the party line and backing Brexit.
He added: “I don’t think people should abstain today”.
In a statement to the Telegraph, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said that a vote to renew Trident will show that despite the Brexit vote “we are certainly not turning our back on the security of Europe and the rest of the world”.
Labour officially remains in favour of replacing the four submarines to give the United Kingdom a continuous nuclear weapons presence at sea, although this is subject to a long-running internal party review.
Ahead of MPs voting on renewing the Trident nuclear weapons system, the Cabinet minister also defended the £31 billion cost amid fears that it could spiral even higher.
Ms Thornberry told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Jeremy is going to campaign and always will campaign for unilateral disarmament”.
On the other hand, the political commentator argued, after the recent “turmoil in the political scene” the British lawmakers “aren’t in the position to make a reasonable vote”.
“There are a range of options available and they should be looked at carefully”.
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“I think it should have been delayed”.
