The bill to renew Britain’s nuclear arsenal, which faced strong criticisms within the ruling Labour party leading to many resignations, has been passed by the Commons. The Blair government has won the vote by 409 to 161.
Tony Blair’s dependence on the opposition conservatives to win the vote, in the meanwhile, is seen as his weakness by many. The conservatives have long proposed to revamp the aging nuclear weapons and the Trident missiles systems.
The plan to spend US $40 billion to build a new fleet of submarines to carry the American made Trident missiles that are tipped with the atom bombs has invited a lot of criticism and condemnation. Questions have been raised by many about ramifications of the decision on Britain’s credibility as an advocate of nuclear nonproliferation, particularly in relation to Iran and North Korea.
Nigel Griffiths, who had earlier resigned from Blair’s government as a minister over the issue said ‘We must lead the world in campaigning for the eradication of the nuclear threat and we must lead by example.’
Hundreds of people staged protests outside the parliament as the voting took place.
The Labour proosed bill is in marked difference from the party’s traditional anti-war and anti-nuclear policies. The party was committed to unilateral nuclear disarmament in the past.
