Submarines and Spitfires: Labour's Trident conundrum

The synthetic outrage over Emily Thornberry’s remarks emphasises the need to have a realistic debate about Britain’s defence policy

We need not waste much time on the synthetic outrage provoked at Monday night’s stormier than usual meeting of the parliamentary Labour party (PLP) over Emily Thornberry’s comparison between the Trident nuclear submarine fleet and the second world war’s Spitfire. MPs are in a fractious mood on both sides of the Corbyn divide.

So the shadow home secretary, Andy Burnham, is giving way to defeatist talk when he says that it may be impossible to reconcile opposing views within Labour’s ranks on the nuclear deterrent. History says otherwise, though the electorate may have to give Jeremy Corbyn a nudge, or even two.

Related: Labour Trident tensions resurface over hiding capability of submarines

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