We’d be barmy to oppose Trident, MPs tell Corbyn
Senior Labour figures speak out amid fears Left-wing activists could get policy-making powers
JEREMY CORBYN is facing fresh turmoil over his plan to oppose Trident as senior party figures warn that ditching support for nuclear weapons would lead Labour to “electoral disaster”.
Michael Dugher, who Mr Corbyn sacked from his shadow cabinet this month, said it would be “barmy” for Labour to withdraw backing for Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent.
And Sadiq Khan, Labour’s candidate for Mayor of London, has warned in a
Telegraph interview that it would be “wrong” to scrap Trident and pledged to oppose Mr Corbyn on the issue.
The Labour leader signalled yesterday he would hand over policy making to his party’s growing Left-wing membership by inviting activists to vote on policies through internet surveys.
Labour has launched a review of its defence stance which moderate MPs fear will result in a decision to back unilateral nuclear disarmament, a policy widely seen as helping to keep the party out of power during the Eighties.
In his first speech since losing his position as shadow culture secretary, Mr Dugher told activists it was “barmy” to think the party could afford to spend “a single day” ahead of elections in May “talking to ourselves about a divisive issue like Trident, rather than talking to the country about what this Tory Government is doing”.
“We tried unilateralism before,” he said. “It ended in electoral disaster then. There is no evidence to suggest that it won’t end in disaster again.”
Mr Corbyn’s recent reshuffle also replaced the pro-Trident shadow defence secretary Maria Eagle with Emily Thornberry, a longstanding campaigner against nuclear weapons, who will lead a review of Labour defence policy.
Senior Labour figures have also been considering fast tracking an anti-Trident policy by pushing it through the party’s National Executive Committee. At least five shadow cabinet ministers have indicated they would resign if support for Trident is dropped.
Mr Corbyn is also facing opposition from unions who fear abandoning the deterrent – and plans to build four new submarines to carry the weapons – would cost thousands of jobs.
It came as Mr Corbyn made a “socialist” speech last night to the Unite union’s conference in Scotland, insisting he was on the side of the “worker”.
“Socialist politics is about forcing unaccountable power to be accountable and about stripping the unaccountable of their power,” Mr Corbyn said.
“Millions of people face unaccountable power every day. At work in their workplace – the boss, the management. They’re not elected by the workforce, they cannot be voted out. They are appointed by those with money. Our Labour movement was formed to fight that powerlessness. To put power in the hands of workers and of all people.”
Mr Corbyn was recently attacked by business chiefs for threatening to stop companies paying out dividends to shareholders if they failed to pay all workers the living wage.
Matthew Fell, the CBI chief of staff, said: “The idea of politicians stepping into the relationship between a private company and its shareholders would be a significant intervention and not one we would support.”
HE IS the Left-leaning son of a bus driver who grew up on a council estate and nominated Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader.
But today Sadiq Khan uses an interview with The Sunday Telegraph to make a direct pitch to Conservative voters to pick him as the next Mayor of London over Zac Goldsmith, the Tory.
In an attempt to reach for the centre ground, Mr Khan promises to stand up for London over airport expansion and oppose attempts to impose a “Robin Hood tax” on the banks.
He takes aim at Mr Goldsmith’s lack of experience in business and politics, refusing to apologise for an attack advert that called the son of billionaire Sir James Goldsmith “a serial underachiever”.
Mr Khan also promises to be no Corbyn “patsy” if he wins office, dubbing the Labour leader’s stance on Trident as “wrong” and warning that questioning the police’s right to shoot to kill terrorists could have huge negative consequences.
The Labour candidate also opens up about fears he has for his teenage daughters over online radicalisation and demands ministers shut down internet providers being used to promote extremism.
The comments, less than four months before Londoners head to the polls, are an apparent attempt to win over crucial undecided voters.
They also indicate Mr Khan is ready to follow Boris Johnson by being a thorn in the side of his party leaders if he reaches City Hall on May 5.
Mr Khan is the bookmakers’ favourite to defeat Mr Goldsmith, the environmentalist and Richmond Park MP, after pulling ahead in the polls with populist policy announcements such as a freeze on London Underground ticket prices.
The vote will be Mr Corbyn’s first major electoral test, and the Tories are looking to win a third successive mayoral election in a traditionally Labour city. Despite being considered on the Left of his party, Mr Khan – the Tooting MP and former shadow justice secretary – explains why Tories should vote for him.
Chatting in a room in Parliament with sweeping views over the capital, he attacks foreign millionaires buying up property only to leave it empty, and pledges to create a new batch of truly “affordable” houses.
His definition of a successful mayor, he says, is one who can put aside party affiliations and speak for the city as a whole. “I am trying to persuade
Telegraph readers to look at me, to look at my experiences, to look at my vision for London and what I would do for London,” he says. “When you meet and study the best mayors from around the world, they are not tribal. What they try and do is to reach across the entire city.”
To do that, Mr Khan says he is ready to take on his party leader. “There will be occasions when, frankly speaking, I disagree with Jeremy,” he says, naming as key differences support for a new runway at Gatwick, a belief that businesses can drive jobs growth and prosperity, and “unequivocal” backing for a reformed EU.
He also pledges to work with the Tory Government to defeat Mr Corbyn’s push for a “Robin Hood tax” – a fee on buying stocks, shares and derivatives publicly backed by the Labour leader last summer.
He says: “That is the job of the Mayor of London: not to be a patsy or a spokesperson for George Osborne and David Cameron – as Mr Goldsmith is being – or Jeremy Corbyn or the party, but to be London’s advocate to their party and the government.”
The differences between Mr Khan and Mr Corbyn are clearest on defence. On Trident, he is categorical: “I’m quite clear that I can’t foresee any circumstances in which I would vote to unilaterally end our nuclear capability.”
He pledges to back renewal even if it is not Labour policy, saying: “At a time when Russia’s expanded into Ukraine, you’ve got North Korea testing missiles, I think the idea of getting rid of Trident unilaterally would be the wrong one.”
Similarly, Mr Khan stresses the importance of letting police shoot to kill terrorists if they launch an attack in Britain – a policy Mr Corbyn questioned late last year.
“These are split-second decisions,” Mr Khan says. “If they are questioning in that microsecond whether they could get in trouble, that could lead to a huge source of adverse consequences.”
The race for London mayor has been characterised by some as a battle for backgrounds: Mr Khan versus Mr Goldsmith, the Eton-educated child of a billionaire. But Mr Khan insists he will not criticise Mr Goldsmith’s upbringing, saying “none of us are responsible for who our parents are”, but this week an attack advert branded his opponent “a serial underachiever”.
“I won’t apologise for comparing Zac Goldsmith’s adult experiences [to mine] in relation to business – or lack thereof – and in relation to politics,” he says.
There has been some criticism of Mr Khan’s stilted television interviews, but in person he speaks fluently, with a charisma that does not always come across on camera.
His most emotive comments come over fears that his two teenage daughters could be groomed online, demanding the Government acts more swiftly to shut down IP addresses being used for promoting extremism.
“I’ve got two children, two girls,” he says. “If, God forbid, I was under any suspicion that they were being groomed sexually, a parent would have no hesitation in reporting to the authorities, taking away their computer. You can think of all the things you do as a parent.
“Why aren’t we treating radicalisation in the same way? Close down the internet service provider, get the authorities involved. This is really important.”
He also has a novel approach to tackling radicalisation: promote British Muslim “role models” such as One Direction’s Zayn Malik and
The Great British Bake Off’s Nadiya Hussain to inspire children.
One nagging question is left until the end – if Mr Khan disagrees with Mr Corbyn on a host of policies, why did he nominate him for the leadership? Mr Corbyn only qualified for the race with minutes to spare – and some MPs now rate their backing for him as one of their biggest mistakes in politics.
Does Mr Khan regret nominating him? “No, I don’t regret it,” he replies, saying that denying a wide debate would have led to the perception the race was a “stitch-up”. Even so, he makes clear he will be his own man in City Hall if he wins, saying: “I’ve got my own mandate.”
‘Why aren’t we treating extremism the same as sexual grooming? Close down the ISP’