Give Labour MPs free vote on Trident, say readers

Labour MPs should be given a free vote on Trident, rather than whipped to follow a party line, according to LabourList readers.

A Commons vote on Trident could happen within a matter of weeks, with the party facing a conundrum – while supporting renewal is official party policy, a line the majority of the Shadow Cabinet and Parliamentary Labour Party agree with, the leader, Shadow Chancellor and Shadow International Development Secretary are all opposed.

72% of those who took part in this week’s survey said that all Labour MPs should be able to vote how they want on the issue, with only 21% saying that they should have to follow a party line one way or another.

Jeremy Corbyn asserted his authority at Shadow Cabinet earlier this week, where he made clear that he expected to be supported in his row with armed forced chief General Houghton. Corbyn says it was inappropriate for Houghton to make comments on the Marr Show about Trident last weekend, while other frontbenchers have publicly disagreed.

LabourList readers overwhelmingly back Corbyn on the issue, with 82% saying it was not appropriate for General Houghton to act in the way he did. Just 16% believe he was within his rights to air his concerns.

Two-third of readers said they believed the Scottish Nationalist Party ran on a more left wing platform than Labour in May’s General Election. 62% of those surveyed said they think the SNP were to Labour’s left, double the 31% who disagreed.

With polls for next year’s Scottish election consistently showing an SNP lead of around 30 points, pinpointing what has made them so successful is key to Scottish Labour’s long-term recovery. The notion that the SNP’s victory is rooted in left wing populism is clearly widely believed.2,354 voted in this week’s survey. Thanks to everyone who took part.