Britain votes to stay nuclear despite revolt

By Adrian Croft

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's parliament backed Prime Minister Tony Blair's plans to renew the country's nuclear arsenal on Wednesday as opposition votes helped Blair survive a major rebellion by members of his own party.

Eighty-seven politicians from Blair's Labour Party voted against his plan to spend 15 to 20 billion pounds ($29 to 39 billion) on new nuclear-armed submarines to replace ones that go out of service in about 2024.

It was the biggest rebellion against Blair since a 2003 vote backing war in Iraq and the largest rebellion on a domestic issue in Blair's decade in power.

The revolt could have overturned Blair's 67-seat majority in the 646-member lower house of parliament, but backing from the opposition Conservatives helped Blair secure a 409-161 vote in favor of renewing the Trident nuclear weapons system.

The rebellion was a further blow to Blair's authority over the party as he prepares to step down in the next few months.

Rebel politicians pledged to keep fighting the decision, which will mean Britain keeps a nuclear deterrent into the 2050s.

"This is not the end of the story by any means," Labour legislator Jeremy Corbyn told Sky News. "This is a very big rebellion ... in favor of peace."

As lawmakers voted, anti-nuclear demonstrators rallied opposite parliament, chanting "Trident, No!" and holding up banners saying "No to a new nuclear arms race."

Other protests were held outside the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh and at the Faslane nuclear submarine base in Scotland.

NEW THREATS

Blair is convinced Britain must renew its nuclear weapons, saying new threats from countries like North Korea or nuclear terrorists make it unwise and dangerous to disarm. But he faced deep-rooted opposition within the Labour Party, which advocated unilateral nuclear disarmament until the late 1980s.

"We must lead the world in campaigning for the eradication of the nuclear threat and we must lead by example," said Nigel Griffiths, one of four Labour politicians who quit junior government jobs in protest at the renewal of Trident.

Opponents say Britain no longer needs weapons to deter an attack from a nuclear-armed Soviet Union, and renewing the arsenal will make it harder to persuade countries such as North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons.

They say the new system is a waste of money.

Blair said there was "absolutely no evidence" it would improve the prospects of other countries disarming if Britain gave up its nuclear weapons. "I think the reverse is the case," he told parliament.