Scottish Labour set to debate scrapping Trident

Supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are organising to win Scottish Labour over to an anti-Trident position with motions set to be submitted to next month’s party conference in support of scrapping the UK’s nuclear weapons system.

A young anti-Trident protestor in April. Picture: Jane Barlow

The news comes after Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said she would not stand in the way of a vote on Trident if members wanted it.

However, Scotland on Sunday has learned that a number of local constituency Labour parties are beginning the process of putting down motions to change party policy to oppose Trident – a position that would bring it into line with Corbyn’s stance.

Labour MSP Elaine Smith, convener of the Campaign for Socialism, a party pressure group that backed Corbyn as leader, said she knew of at least one anti-Trident motion submitted to Scottish Labour’s conference, which opens on 30 October in Perth, with more likely to come.

Smith said: “Local parties will put motions on Trident to conference and I’d like to think we can get a position that is anti the renewal of Trident.”

Dave Watson, the Scottish organiser and political officer of Unison – one of the biggest affiliated unions, stated that it was a “pretty near certainty” there would be a vote on whether to oppose the renewal of Trident at Scottish Labour’s conference.

The Campaign for Socialism and Labour CND are now expected to circulate anti-Trident model motions for constituency parties to submit to the conference.

However, supporters of Trident are expected to organise against the proposed policy shift with senior party figures such as MSP Jackie Baillie expected to resist the move.