Jeremy Corbyn’s aim at this conference has been to keep the Labour party on an even keel. But there was one line in his speech that has unsettled some frontbenchers. He said this about Trident:
‘Today we face very different threats from the time of the Cold War which ended thirty years ago. That’s why I have asked our Shadow Defence Secretary, Maria Eagle, to lead a debate and review about how we deliver that strong, modern effective protection for the people of Britain. I’ve made my own position on one issue clear. And I believe I have a mandate from my election on it. I don’t believe £100 billion on a new generation of nuclear weapons taking up a quarter of our defence budget is the right way forward. I believe Britain should honour our obligations under the Non Proliferation Treaty and lead in making progress on international nuclear disarmament.’
When Corbyn offered Labour MPs frontbench jobs, he gave a number of them assurances that they would be able to stick to their own support of Trident, in spite of his own stated opposition to the renewal of the nuclear deterrent. One such Shadow Cabinet member told Coffee House that Corbyn’s rather strong statement of his view and his mandate to stick to it could become a resigning issue if he doesn’t allow his frontbenchers to continue to set out their own support of Trident, and whether they would be allowed a free vote when the renewal of the deterrent comes before the Commons.
‘Does that mean that others who have other views can’t stick to them, or can we still say what we think about this?’ the frontbencher asked. ‘And the big, big, big crunch point will come when the vote is in Parliament.’ Given the web of assurances that holds together the Shadow Cabinet, Corbyn will want to clarify this in meetings with them as soon as possible.
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