Labour and SNP unite in Trident vote

The Scottish parliament has voted overwhelmingly to urge the UK Government not to renew Britain’s nuclear weapons system.

An amended motion calling for the establishment of Scotland and UK-based defence diversification agencies to find new careers for workers tied to the Trident nuclear deterrent was backed by 96 MSPs.

Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie, whose constituency includes the Faslane naval base, was the only Labour MSP to vote against alongside 16 Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.

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The rest of her party honoured a decision by Labour conference at the weekend to back unilateral disarmament. The UK party position is to support the renewal of Trident, but leader Jeremy Corbyn is firmly against .

Scottish labour’s Clare Baker said: “Scottish Labour has a clear position opposing the renewal of Trident and we will work with others to achieve what we seek.”

SNP infrastructure secretary Keith Brown said the debate had been triggered by new estimates that the weapons system could cost £167bn over its lifetime.

“Some people say that it is a reserved issue: unfortunately, we have reserved to us the dubious honour of having to host nuclear weapons in our waters. In addition, the matter is vitally important to our economy and public finances, and to many aspects of public policy in Scotland,” he said.

Conservative John Lamont said the SNP motion was “simplistic, cynical and an insult to the majority of Scots.”

The benefits of a nuclear deterrent, he said, “cannot be quantified in terms of cost.”

At Scottish Labour's debate on Sunday, Derek Torrie, industrial trade union convener at Faslane, said:

“My own work-life experience is that defence diversification was discussed for much of the 80s and 90s and produced nothing of note that would in any way replace the quantity and quality of jobs required to replace those that we currently have.”

CND general secretary Kate Hudson welcomed Scottish Labour’s new position.

"It is yet another sign that the cold war Labour-Tory consensus on nuclear weapons has been broken. Forward looking politicians are realising that what the public want are 21st century answers to the real security challenges we face, not well over £100bn spent on a cold war relic," she said.