Prime Minister Tony Blair’s likely successor will not reverse a decision to replace Britain’s nuclear deterrent, despite dissent in the governing Labour Party, a senior party official said on Thursday.
A parliamentary vote on the issue on Wednesday saw 87 Labour lawmakers vote against government plans to renew the submarine-based Trident missile system. They were only approved with the help of opposition conservative votes.
Ninety-five from the Labour ranks voted for a separate motion to delay the decision.
Amid media claims that it demonstrated Blair’s dwindling authority in his last months in power, Labour chairperson Hazel Blears was asked on BBC radio whether Finance Minister Gordon Brown would pursue the policy when he takes over.
“Absolutely, no doubt whatsoever,” said Blears, who is standing for the centre-left party’s deputy leadership.
“It’s in the best interests of this country in maintaining our independent nuclear deterrent, which was in our manifesto at the last election.”
Brown is the frontrunner to replace Blair when he steps down later this year.
Wednesday’s vote — which the government won by 409 votes to 161 — was the largest rebellion by Labour MPs since the March 2003 vote over whether to invade Iraq.
Anti-nuclear campaigners said it demonstrated the groundswell of opposition to replacing Trident, while commentators said it showed that Blair was now a “lame duck”, as he had to rely on the backing of the Conservative Party.
Blears put a more positive spin on the result, saying the majority of Labour’s 352 MPs backed the government.
Blair wants to renew the four Vanguard-class submarines that carry the United States-built missiles before they reach the end of their working life in 2024 and extend the shelf life of the weapons themselves into the 2050s.
The government claims it would cost £15-billion to £20-billion but opponents say the bill could rise to as much as £100-billion. — AFP