Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is planning to attend a march in London against nuclear weapons at the weekend, alongside the SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon, Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood and Caroline Lucas of the Green party.
Party sources confirmed Corbyn was intending to go to the march organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament today, while Labour is embroiled in an internal debate about whether to drop support for a continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent.
Sturgeon, Wood and Lucas have jointly written for the Guardian before the event saying today will be a day to “put party allegiances aside and march together for a Britain free from nuclear weapons”.
They wrote: “Replacing Trident is neither necessary nor sensible. The evidence is stacked against spending billions of pounds on these exceptionally dangerous weapons. They won’t make us safer.
“The Westminster parliament will soon choose whether to join the vast majority of nuclear-free nations by moving on from Trident. It would be bold for Britain to ditch this weapons system, but it would be the right thing to do. We are uniting to march together for that very cause - we hope you’ll join us.”
The march is expected to attract thousands of anti-nuclear protesters, starting in Marble Arch and heading to Trafalgar Square.
Corbyn has been clear he is not in favour of the renewal of the four Trident nuclear submarines, putting him at odds with much of the parliamentary party and major trade unions, but not the grassroots membership of the party. The policy is under review by Emily Thornberry, the shadow defence secretary.
Tom Watson, the party’s deputy leader, made clear his position is different to Corbyn’s at the EEF manufacturers’ group annual conference on Wednesday.
Even though the party’s policy review is not complete, he urged David Cameron to get on with holding a vote to renew Trident in the House of Commons as there are enough Labour MPs in favour of it to guarantee the vote would be won.
“I’m in favour of a continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent,” he said. “My party’s policy favours a continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent. Our trade unions who represent the thousands of workers in the 450 companies who form the supply chain that make it are in favour of Trident.
“You may have read that this view is not shared by all our MPs. But I have made it clear to Cameron that if he honours his promise of a vote on Trident, I will support it.”