Labour pledges to back Trident

THE Labour Party has recommitted to the Nato alliance and Trident nuclear submarine programme, declaring the two “unshakeable” and “non-negotiable” in an attempt to draw a line under Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure as party leader.

In his first major speech since Sir Keir Starmer took office as Labour leader, John Healey, the party’s shadow defence secretary, said the matters were “settled” – a recognition that many voters perceived Mr Corbyn’s public doubts about Nato and nuclear weapons as a weakness.

Mr Healey said the party would remain committed to mutual defence with other Nato members under Article V of the alliance’s treaty, and to building four new nuclear submarines in Barrow-infurness.

Speaking to the Royal United Services Institute yesterday, Mr Healey said Labour wanted the UK to be a “force for good in an increasingly unstable global order”.

“Labour’s support for nuclear deterrence is nonnegotiable,” he said.

“The matter is settled. From Kinnock to Corbyn – with Blair, Brown and Miliband in between – this has been, and will remain, Labour policy.

“So we are committed to building four new submarines at Barrow-in-furness, committed to continuous at sea deterrence and committed to all future upgrades to this capability that may be necessary.”

On Nato, Mr Healey said “mutual defence through Article V is the cornerstone of Labour’s commitment on Britain’s security”, adding that it was under Clement Attlee’s Labour government in 1949 that the UK joined the alliance.