Revealed: Labour will put off Trident decision until after 2020

EXCLUSIVE: The party will delay a decision after a major split in the shadow cabinet
New mandate: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
Rex
Joe Murphy @JoeMurphyLondon27 September 2016
WEST END FINAL

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Labour is to postpone a firm decision on the Trident nuclear deterrent until after the 2020 general election following a major split between Jeremy Corbyn and shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis.

The division burst into the open yesterday when Mr Lewis reportedly “punched the wall” in fury after finding his speech at the Labour conference had been tampered with by Mr Corbyn’s aide Seumas Milne.

Now party sources say a review being carried out by former soldier Mr Lewis and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry is going to be fudged because the two sides are so far apart.Parliament is due to vote on whether to go ahead with replacing the existing Trident nuclear weapons system at a cost of around £40 billion.

Mr Corbyn, a lifelong CND campaigner, wants to scrap the replacement but party policy since the late Eighties has been to maintain the deterrent. Unions say dropping it would cost 15,000 jobs.

Trident row: Labour's Clive Lewis

The wide-ranging defence review, led by Ms Thornberry, was launched this year to consider, among other issues, whether the money could be better spent on conventional defences.

But it is now expected to conclude that it will only be possible to reach a final verdict when the party takes power and sees how much of the £40 billion has already been spent on or committed to the programme. “The value-for-money calculation may look very different if a large proportion has been committed already,” said a source.

Five tests set by the review could cover a range of factors, including the implications for regional jobs and alternative uses of the money. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell last night said the debate on Trident was not over — contradicting Mr Lewis, who suggested he would not try to “undo” the existing policy of renewing Trident.

Mr Lewis was pictured with a furious expression after a section of his speech was deleted in the autocue room by Mr Milne, who is Mr Corbyn’s media strategist. In a statement clarifying his position Mr Lewis told the Guardian: “I won’t be coming back to conference between now and the next election to try to undo the policy we have on Trident as things stand.”

But Mr McDonnell told BBC Newsnight: “His view is that the matter has been decided for the time being. But it is always open for party members to raise these issues.” A party source said Mr Corbyn would not drop his unilateralist beliefs but recognised Trident policy was a collective decision for the party.

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