Trident Vote ‘a Strong Possibility’, says Blair, Amid Opposition

|PIC1|The prime minister said yesterday that a Commons vote on replacing the Trident nuclear deterrent system is a “strong possibility” amid opposition to the proposals.

The replacement of the Trident submarine system has become an issue of major public concern since Chancellor Gordon Brown revealed his strong support for its renewal.

Tony Blair refused, however, to confirm to MPs on both sides of the House that MPs would be given a say in whether to replace Trident, although he did say that the government would allow parliament to have its say on other “sensitive” issues, reports Politics.co.uk.

The Church of Scotland and Catholic Church in Scotland have been particularly vocal in their opposition to the renewal of Trident.

|TOP|At an anti-Trident meeting held in Glasgow at the end of last month, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rev Alan McDonald, spoke out against the renewal of the nuclear weapons programme.

Rev McDonald challenged Chancellor Gordon Brown over the huge cost of a Trident replacement, urging him to use the £25 billion needed to renew the nuclear warheads programme for aid or debt relief instead.

He also said that the UK should reject Trident even if it were free “because it’s wrong, morally, and theologically wrong,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Methodist Conference held last month in Edinburgh also voted against Trident renewal, raising the concern that such a move would jeopardise the fulfilment of the British government’s obligations to the anti-proliferation treaty – a concern voiced by MPs Wednesday.|AD|

Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn challenged the government over its commitment to its obligations under the 1970 treaty which calls on the five main nuclear powers to implement a gradual reduction of its nuclear arms.

"Rearming reduces any moral clout we have in encouraging other states not to develop nuclear weapons," he told MPs during prime minister's questions.

Mr Blair said that “considerable reductions” had been made to scale back Britain’s nuclear weapons stock and added that the British government wanted to “see a reduction in nuke capability worldwide”.

“But it has to be done through negotiation,” he added.

Another significant discussion is expected to be held on the issue of Trident replacement before a decision is taken later this year.