The UK could keep Trident without warheads – Corbyn says he will accommodate Labour divisions

Jeremy Corbyn has said he will accommodate MPs on the Trident debate and said one possible option would be to keep the Trident submarine fleet without carrying nuclear warheads.

On the Andrew Marr show this morning he said the party are consulting on Trident and as of Friday they will discuss shadow defence secretary, Emily Thornberry’s, consultation document.

Corbyn said he wants a “serious mature response” to this debate. A long-term opponent of nuclear weapons, Corbyn said that if Labour were to get rid of Trident their first priority would be to protect jobs and redirect investment to places that make Trident components. He said he had discussed this with Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey.

“I want to see a nuclear free world. the real issue is are we going to play our part in the nuclear non proliferation treaty which requires the five countries not to develop their nuclear capability… If anyone uses a nuclear weapon it is catastrophic for the whole world, I don’t think David Cameron would use it either.”

The Labour leader also said he would win over people who had voted Conservative at the last election and those who were not “natural” Labour supporters by focussing on bread and butter issues of housing and the health. Corbyn said he would make Labour’s pitch clear by “saying we wish to extend and protect the NHS [and] address the housing crisis”.

“I’ve been elected leader of the party, it’s a great honour and responsibility. We want to change the nature of the debate and focus on the grotesque levels of inequality”, he said.

Corbyn also said Labour would make an offer to the millions of young people who didn’t vote at the last election by giving them “proper access” to university and college education. He called for rebalancing the economy with a greater focus on inventing and developing new technology, particularly green technology.

He criticised the differentials between people at top and bottom of companies, noting that the average pay of chief executives is £4-5 million a year, while the average of most people in these companies is much less. “We need to promote the debate about the kind of society we want to live in”, he said.

On the issue of strikes, he would not say Labour would automatically support every strikes in the future, after Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said in September that this would be the party’s stance going forward. Corbyn said this reflected McDonnell’s instinctive position on strikes. He said he would support sympathy action – when trade unions take industrial action in support of a strike by another trade union – which is legal in many other countries and flying pickets, when workers travel from their place of work to support workers at another place of work.

Corbyn also condemned recent events in Madaya, where it’s said inhabitants are starving to death. He sent a message to Hezbollah, the Syrian Government, ISIS and any other forces involves that using food as a weapon of war, is a war crime.

In the wide-ranging interview, Corbyn also said there some be “reasonable accommodation” with Argentina over the Falklands.

“It seems to me ridiculous that in the 21st Century we could get into some enormous conflict with Argentina about the islands just off it. Yes, of course the islanders have an enormous say in this; let’s bring about some sensible dialogue.

“It happened before I’m sure it could happen again. They’ve got the right to stay where they are, they have got a right to decide on their own future and that will be part of it. Let’s have that discussion and let’s not say agendas in advance.”

Update: Watch Corbyn on Donald Trump

Jeremy Corbyn wants to take Donald Trump to a London mosque #marr More here: https://t.co/ZUCRAJLtSU https://t.co/GUi6Evohef

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) January 17, 2016