Scotland’s two main political parties have joined forces in a call to scrap Trident – just days after Labour reversed its policy on the renewal of the deterrent.
The SNP backed a Holyrood motion by Scottish Labour that demanded the UK Government halt plans to replace the nuclear weapons programme at an estimated cost of £167billion.
It comes after the Scottish Labour conference in Perth overwhelmingly voted on Sunday against renewing Trident, putting policy north of the border at odds with the UK party’s position.
Infrastructure secretary Keith Brown brought forward the debate on Trident, which is based at Faslane, amid speculation the UK Government may bring forward a key vote on renewal before Christmas.
He said: “It is wrong for the UK Government to be contemplating building a new nuclear weapons launch system while at the same time introducing massive cuts to welfare.
“Around £1billion of the £12billion welfare cut by the UK Government impacts directly on Scotland and it does seem to me to put the priorities of the UK Government into quite sharp focus.
“It is very important that this chamber speaks as loudly as possible in relation to the way that it feels about this expenditure on nuclear weapons.”
Labour’s Claire Baker said the debate at her party’s conference at the weekend means opposition to the renewal of Trident is now its “clear position” – although she was opposed by party colleague Jackie Baillie.
“For Scottish Labour on Sunday, the arguments for opposing Trident won the day because they presented a strong case for Trident renewal being the wrong choice at the wrong time,” Ms Baker said.
“But beyond that there was also a strong, fundamental argument against nuclear weapons.”
She added: “But a decision to cancel Trident is not without significant consequences for the workforce and the communities who rely on these jobs.
“We cannot underestimate what the cancellation would mean to the communities of Faslane and Coulport.
“We must ensure that this skilled and experienced workforce continues to make a significant contribution to our economy whether inside or outside the defence sector.”
Scottish Conservative welfare reform spokesman John Lamont accused the SNP of using Trident as “cynical political football” and said Labour was “muddled” on the issue.
Mr Lamont said: “The truth is that by unilaterally getting rid of our nuclear deterrent the UK’s national security would be severely damaged and other states may even be encouraged to acquire their own nuclear weapons as a consequence.”