Trident: MPs vote to renew nuclear weapons programme

Hatty Collier19 July 2016
WEST END FINAL

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MPs have voted to back the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons programme.

The House of Commons voted to renew the weapons system by 472 to 117 – a majority of 355.

The vote approves the manufacture of four armed replacement submarines at an estimated cost of £31bn.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told MPs Trident “puts doubts in the minds of our adversaries”.

The vote was passed despite opposition from the Scottish National Party MPs and the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn – a longstanding opponent of nuclear weapons.

Labour remained split on the issue with MPs allowed a free vote on whether to renew Trident.

Members of Corbyn’s frontbench including Labour’s shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis and shadow foreign affairs secretary Emily Thornberry abstained from the vote.

Opposition: Jeremy Corbyn voted against renewing Trident
PA

The vote came after a five-hour debate, in which new Prime Minister Theresa May gave her first Commons speech since entering Number 10, saying that the “very real” threat posed by Russia and North Korea meant Britain could not afford to "relax our guard".

But Mr Corbyn has repeated his position that he would not press the nuclear button if he was in power, arguing that threatening “mass murder” was not the way to handle international relations.

Threat: Theresa May said Britain could opposition to maintain the UK's nuclear deterrent is "quite wrong"
PA

In a swipe at Mr Corbyn, Mrs May said: "Some people suggest to us that we should actually be removing our nuclear deterrent.

“This has been a vital part of our national security and defence for nearly half-a-century now and it would be quite wrong for us to go down that particular path."

When she was challenged on whether she would be prepared to authorise a nuclear strike that could kill thousands of "innocent men, women and children", Mrs May firmly replied: "Yes."

After the vote, the SNP warned that a Scottish independence referendum was fast approaching and argued that to renew Trident was against the wishes of almost every MP in Scotland.

Scotland’s only Tory MP David Mundell was the sole supporter.

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