“The Government’s policy is to retain the Trident continuous at sea nuclear deterrent to provide the ultimate guarantee of our safety and build the new fleet of four Successor Ballistic Missile Submarines – securing thousands of highly-skilled engineering jobs in the UK”.
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In light of the hugely dividing Brexit campaign, the vote on Trident was widely seen as May’s attempt to unify the Conservatives and highlight rifts in within Labour.
Since 1969, according to government documents, a British submarine carrying nuclear weapons has always been on patrol, gliding silently beneath the waves, somewhere in the world’s oceans.
Islwyn MP Chris Evans was not able to attend the vote.
The British prime minister made the resounding declaration during a Commons debate on the renewal of the UK’s nuclear deterrent ahead of a vote expected to take place later this evening (18 July).
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reiterated his opposition to the potential use of the weapons – one of the key elements of the doctrine of nuclear deterrence.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who allowed his party’s lawmakers to vote freely on the issue, argued that the threat of a nuclear strike isn’t likely to be as effective as it may have been during the Cold War. “I don’t believe the threat of mass murder is a legitimate way of going about global relations”.
He branded Mr Corbyn’s opposition “juvenile” and “narcissistic” and said shadow cabinet members who voted against Trident should resign and return to the backbenches because they would be voting against Labour Party policy.
He said: “It would be both morally and economically indefensible for the United Kingdom government to commit to spending hundreds of billions of pounds on weapons of mass destruction – even more so at a time when they are cutting funding for public services”.
In a swipe at Mr Corbyn, she said: “Some people suggest to us that we should actually be removing our nuclear deterrent”.
Monday’s vote gave the seal of approval.
But Angela Smith, Labour MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said: “He is very fond of telling us all that party conference is sovereign when it comes to party policy”.
Mr Corbyn replied: “He is well aware of what the policy was”.
“We can’t be sure what threats will come against Britain in the 2040s and 2050s”, Fallon told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, adding that not renewing the Trident system was “a gamble we simply can’t afford to take”.
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The UK has four submarines that each carry up to eight Trident missiles.
