Labour need a coherent policy on Trident

Conference Arrangements Committee has ruled contemporary motions on Trident in order, but it is important that delegates vote for it in the Priorities Ballot on Sunday morning under the heading Britain’s Defence Capabilities. Contemporary motions calling for the Labour Party to prioritise practical plans to transition a highly skilled workforce away from nuclear weapons into more socially productive employment are supported by Labour CND and have been passed by CLPs right across the country.

It’s hard to overstate the urgent need for Conference to determine Labour’s policy on Trident. The Conservatives look set to bring the final vote on Trident replacement to the House of Commons next year. Labour needs a coherent Trident policy for that vote and for elections across the United Kingdom next year, notably in Scotland.

It was clear before Jeremy Corbyn’s resounding election as Labour Leader that existing policy set out in the National Policy Report in 2014 didn’t reflect the desire in the party for a clear anti-Trident position. Prior to the General Election more than 50 CLPs submitted amendments to the National Policy Forum calling for Labour to scrap Trident and 75% of Labour parliamentary candidates who responded to a CND survey said they would not vote for replacement. A recent LabourList poll found 68% of respondents opposed to Trident replacement.

During the leadership election Trident was raised at almost every hustings. Jeremy Corbyn was not just the only candidate opposing nuclear weapons but he set out a clear vision of how a nuclear weapons-free Britain could be achieved without losing the high-skilled jobs involved. His policy published in July stated that disarmament requires a Defence Diversification Agency “to develop a strategy to redeploy skills to tasks that will build a stronger country for all, ensuring a just transition for communities whose livelihoods are based in relevant sectors, and ensuring that engineering and scientific skills are not lost.” That quote is now text from the contemporary motion from Swansea East CLP that should reach the conference floor for approval this week.

Jeremy Corbyn won the election on a platform of bringing democracy back to the Labour Party, especially at Conference. Contemporary motions are calling Labour MPs to vote against Trident in Parliament but also for our movement to unite in the cause of the worldwide abolition of nuclear weapons, which is now on the global agenda as the 70^th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki demonstrated last month.

Labour has a clear chance to lead the way and adopt a policy that fits the security needs of the country and is in line with the electorate. It is a chance we cannot afford to miss.

Daniel Blaney is Vice-Chair of CND and Labour CND Executive member