Politics

Unionist MPs join Westminster majority in support of Trident as SDLP vote against

Retired engineer Stuart Holmes with his Staffordshire Bull terrier, also called Stuart, at the anti-Trident demonstration in Parliament Square in London. Picture by Helen William, Press Association 
Retired engineer Stuart Holmes with his Staffordshire Bull terrier, also called Stuart, at the anti-Trident demonstration in Parliament Square in London. Picture by Helen William, Press Association  Retired engineer Stuart Holmes with his Staffordshire Bull terrier, also called Stuart, at the anti-Trident demonstration in Parliament Square in London. Picture by Helen William, Press Association 

THE north's MPs split along unionist-nationalist lines in the Westminster vote on renewing Britain's Trident deterrent..

Retention of the nuclear missile programme received a strong vote of confidence from MPs on Monday - including the backing of 140 Labour members.

The decisive result was returned in support of a government motion which also included supporting the plan to replace the existing submarine fleet carrying the missiles with four new Successor submarines.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was among the 47 of his party's Westminster representatives who objected, alongside the SNP's 52 MPs .

The SDLP's three MPs voted against renewing the deterrent, while five of the DUP's eight MPs voted in support, along with Ulster Unionists Tom Elliott and Danny Kinahan.

The remaining three DUP MPs - Sammy Wilson, Gregory Campbell and Sir Jeffrey Donaldson - were absent from the vote, as was independent unionist Lady Sylvia Hermon.

Those who objected also included Conservative former minister Crispin Blunt, seven Liberal Democrats, three Plaid Cymru, two independents and Green Party MP Caroline Lucas.

For the ayes, there were 322 Tory MPs, 140 Labour, Ukip MP Douglas Carswell and independent Simon Danczuk.

Labour MP Rupa Huq voted in both the ayes and noes, signalling an abstention - and meaning the final result was 471 ayes to 116, majority 355.

Renewal of the continuous-at-sea deterrent is predicted to cost £31 billion, with a £10 billion contingency fund also set aside.

Labour MPs were subject to a free vote, with leader Mr Corbyn declaring he would oppose the motion - a stance which led to strong criticism from some of his backbenchers.

Just three members of Mr Corbyn's shadow cabinet voted in favour of renewing Trident - deputy leader Tom Watson, shadow home secretary Andy Burnham and chief whip Rosie Winterton.

Meanwhile, 11 members of the shadow cabinet voted against renewing Trident, while nine either chose to abstain or did not attend the vote.

Conor McGinn, the Co Armagh-born Labour MP for St Helens, voted in support of the motion, which was debated for almost six hours.

In Theresa May's first despatch box appearance as prime minister, she warned it would be a "reckless gamble" for the UK to rely on other nations for its nuclear deterrent.

Sinn Féin's Mickey Brady, who does not take his seat at Westminster, said the amounts the British government was prepared to lavish on Trident exposed the "hypocrisy of their austerity agenda".

"For years the Tories have slashed spending on frontline public services and on welfare supports for those most in need in our society while they pursued their punishing austerity agenda," he said.

"Yet now they have chosen to spend billions on weapons of mass destruction."

The SDLP's Margaret Ritchie described Trident as a "vanity project of a British government".

She said the UK was "clinging to Cold War technologies" that would be useless in the face of a cyber attack or "sub state terrorism".