Corbyn has long campaigned against nuclear weapons, having been a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the national chair of the Stop the War Coalition from June 2011 until September 2015.
Corbyn wants to change party policy so that Trident is not replaced. He moved anti-nuclear lawmaker Emily Thornberry to the position of shadow defense secretary and appointed anti-nuclear ex-London Mayor Ken Livingstone to conduct a review of Labour defense policy.
However, his anti-Trident stance is at odds with the Labour-supporting unions, who say any move to not replace Trident will lead to the loss of thousands of jobs, with the Labour Party claiming 19,000 jobs depending on Trident in Scotland alone.
GMB Trident successor programme conference in Newcastle upon Tyne 25th Feb https://t.co/XGbDkPESTf #gmb #trident
— GMB Press Office (@GMBPressOffice) February 24, 2016
Gary Smith, Scotland Acting Secretary for the GMB union – which is holding a conference on the issue in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the north of England Thursday – told Sputnik:
"It does put us at odds – not just with Jeremy Corbyn, but with the whole Scottish political establishment. The truth is, these people who have come out against Trident have no proper understanding about how the shipbuilding and submarine industry works."
He said the 40,000 defense workers in Scotland are as vital to national security as the armed forces and that without the skills of the workforce in the yards on the Clyde and Rosyth the Royal Navy could not defend the nation.
"Simple Sloganeering"
"This is rather complicated for politicians. They don’t like complexities. Simple sloganeering and student politics is the order day for a number of politicians – not just Corbyn, but the whole Scottish political establishment," Smith told Sputnik.
He said the result of the defense review – under Livingstone and Thornberry – is unlikely to change party policy. "I doubt that will get through the Labour Party conference and we’ve kept reminding the Labour Party we’ve got a policy already. That policy is pro-renewal of Trident."
MPs against spending an obscene amount of money on an amoral and egotistical weapon #Trident #SNP #CND pic.twitter.com/GNBKBvXprD
— Mhairi Black MP (@MhairiBlack) February 23, 2016
"We’ve pointed out to politicians – who were completely oblivious to the fact – that the tubes for the missiles are actually going to be built in Scotland. There’s 15 years work in building those tubes and it’s absolutely crucial that the work is carried out in Scotland to secure the future of the workers and the future of the communities," Smith Told Sputnik.
Smith was particularly damning of Corbyn, who is a lawmaker for the area of North Islington area of London. "The workers in the industry are together today and they are the voice of all the working people, [which] is finally going to be heard. This is no longer a debate in the coffee shops of Islington and Edinburgh," Smith told Sputnik.
