Corbyn to join Nats in bid to remove Trident

JEREMY Corbyn has vowed to form a Left-wing alliance with the SNP in a dramatic attempt to remove nuclear weapons from Scotland.

The Labour leader said he will vote with the Nationalists at Westminster on the issue of Trident renewal, even though many in his own party oppose unilateral disarmament.

Mr Corbyn’s stance puts him at odds with Scottish leader Kezia Dugdale, who has argued the best way to rid the world of nuclear weapons is ‘together on a multilateral basis’.

The new UK leader is expected to travel north of the Border next week, after what is expected to be a problematic annual conference in Brighton.

‘My position on Trident has been very clear all of my life,’ Mr Corbyn told the BBC. ‘Trident should go. I do not believe it is a form of defence.

‘I do not believe it is something anyone in their proper mind would ever want to use, so I ask the question, is it really sensible to commit such a vast proportion of our assets – £100billion over 25 years – to this when we could be spending it on developing our industrial infrastructure?’

He added: ‘In the House of Commons I was chair of the CND [Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament] group and one of the vice chairs is from the SNP and yes we will be voting with them on this, or they will be voting with us, whichever way you want to put it.’

His comments were last night welcomed by the SNP.

However, the party’s defence spokesman, Brendan O’Hara, said: ‘The real test will be at his party conference when Labour’s deep divisions over the matter will be laid bare.

‘The pressure will be on the Labour Party to clarify their position and whether they support their leader and whether they will work with the SNP in opposing spending £100billion on Trident’s replacement. Labour have an opportunity to j oin a progressive alliance against the immoral, obscene weapons of mass destruction that Westminster continues to dump on the Clyde.’

Meanwhile, Miss Dugdale will use a speech in Brighton today to make a veiled attack on First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has been criticised in recent weeks for her photoshoot in fashion bible Vogue.

She will say: ‘We don’t just need women in positions of i nfluence, but f eminists in positions of power.’