Jeremy Corbyn on scrapping Trident: I want Britain to bring about a nuclear-free world
Labour leader suggests he is prepared to speak at an anti-Trident CND and Stop the War rally in February
Jeremy Corbyn wants a nuclear-free world Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley/The Telegraph
By Michael Wilkinson, Political Correspondent
2:16PM GMT 11 Jan 2016
Jeremy Corbyn has said Britain should be part of a "nuclear-free world" and suggested that he is prepared to speak at an anti-Trident CND rally.
Mr Corbyn said that he wanted ordinary people to have just as much say in his party's stance on renewing the nuclear deterrent as his shadow cabinet.
During an interview with the BBC's Today programme, in which he also also refused to say he would authorise a drone strike on Isil terrorists, "Couldn't Britain play a part in bringing about a nuclear-free world?
"Let's get the discussion and debate out there. I want members to have a big say in it. Whether that comes as a vote of individual members, or a vote at conference, that will be decided. I have not made up my mind on that.
"My whole election programme was based on the need for ordinary people to be able to participate much more in politics, so that leaders don't go away and write policy, so that executive groups don't go off and decide what the policy is, ordinary people do."
He added that "there is a brilliance in everyone who has ideas" and said that there is a need for "a serious, intelligent debate" about the role that nuclear weapons play in the 21st century.
Any move to hand policy decision-making powers to Labour's National Executive Committee or to individual members would likely anger shadow ministers who have already threatened to resign if they are forced to reject the deterrent.
Left-wing figures on the NEC are using a review into its terms of reference to argue MPs should not have the final say on contentious policies.
Instead they want to change procedure so the NEC itself ultimately decides what Labour's stance on Trident and other controversial issues should be.
The plot is the clearest sign yet Mr Corbyn is willing to change Labour's rules to ensure the party opposes nuclear weapons when a vote is called later this year.
Senior Labour moderates have called support for Trident a "fundamental red line".
Mr Corbyn risked infuriating them further by saying he "supports" the Stop Trident national demonstration, organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, which is set to take place in London's Trafalgar Square on February 27.
Sir Paul Kenny warned the Labour leader that it would not go "quietly into the night" if he tried to change the party's policy on Trident.
The GMB leader said there were tens of thousands of jobs at around 50 sites in the UK that depended on defence contracts.
"We are going to ask those people what they think about the Labour Party effectively shutting down their jobs," he told BBC Radio 4's World At One.
"There is a process and there are rules and if anybody thinks that unions like the GMB are going to go quietly into the night while tens of thousands of our members' jobs are literally swannied away by rhetoric then they have got another shock coming."
During his wide-ranging BBC interview, the Labour leader also refused to say he would authorise a drone strike on Isil terrorists even if the security services told him it was necessary.
Mr Corbyn said: "I think that's a hypothetical question. You have to look at the sources of the support of Isil, you have to look at the way it gets its money, the way it gets its weapons.
Corbyn complains of Nick Robinson's "hypothetical question". He should remember that life in Opposition is all about hypothetical questions
— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) January 11, 2016
"I would want to know what the evidence is, what difference it would make by doing that, what the chances were of capturing somebody - I suspect probably very, very low in those circumstances - so action could be taken."
Corbyn says "action could be taken" after being pressed on whether he'd authorise a drone strike. #r4today
— George Eaton (@georgeeaton) January 11, 2016
He also repeated suggestions that Western nations needed to consider the reasons for the growth of the Isil terrorist group, saying they have "not come from nowhere".
Mr Corbyn's comments come just weeks after many shadow cabinet members, including Hilary Benn, the outspoken shadow foreign secretary, defied him by supporting air strikes over Syria.
Speculation that Mr Corbyn would sack Mr Benn during his recent shadow cabinet reshuffle quickly followed.
Hilary Benn, shadow foreign secretary Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley/Telegraph
Asked about the discussions the pair had during reshuffle talks, Mr Corbyn said: "We had a long private chat and can't we leave it at that."
He also attacked Pat McFadden, his sacked shadow Europe minister, saying that he had "distorted" his views on terrorism during a speech in the House of Commons after the Paris attacks.
Mr Corbyn said the Paris attacks were "absolutely disgraceful" and that the French government could not be blamed.
He added: "But I would just say, listen very carefully to the analysis that President Obama gave of the situation in the Middle East when he said we have to think long and hard about the longer-term effects of both the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq, about what that does.
"We have a terrible situation in Syria, we have a terrible situation developing in Iraq and now sadly getting even worse in Afghanistan. Can we not think very long and hard about what our long-term policies and objectives have to be."
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