Political commentators Mike Parry and Matthew Stadlen engaged in a war of words on GB News earlier as Britain’s nuclear deterrent was debated.
Parry questioned Sir Keir Starmer’s commitment to Trident, the programme which covers the development and operation of nuclear weapons in Britain.
Stadlen insisted the Labour leader remains steadfast in his stance on the matter, but harbours concerns about the prospect of it ever being used.
The topic was one of the key points of contention during last night’s BBC General Election debate, where Labour and Tory deputy leaders Angela Rayner and Penny Mordaunt were among the political heavyweights to participate.
Mike Parry and Matthew Stadlen clashed on GB News
GB NEWS
“What I was a bit disappointed with Penny Mordaunt about is, she has big connections to defence”, he said.
“She should have hit Labour on their weak spot. That is, the woman standing next to her, Angela Rayner, would not vote to renew our nuclear submarines.
“She has tried to qualify sense and say there is no mention of multilateralism, that is a weak point.”
Stadlen insisted on “coming back” on Parry’s point, commenting: “Let’s be absolutely clear on this.
“Keir Starmer has been crystal clear that he would use nuclear weapons.”
The Labour leader’s commitment was thrown into question by Parry, who asked whether we should believe him after a series of “flip-flops”.
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Sir Keir Starmer PA“What kind of an opinion has Starmer got?”, he asked.
Stadlen responded: “If we ever get to a position where Starmer has to use a nuclear bomb, we’re all finished anyway, mate”, a comment Parry claimed is a “daft thing to say”.
He added: “If people like Putin and China get the idea that whoever is running our country is not keen on nuclear weapons, it encourages them to try it on with us.”
The claim was quickly rebuffed by Stadlen, who branded it “absolute nonsense” as the pair continued to trade blows on the matter.
Starmer said earlier this week that “security will always come first” under his leadership.
It marks a major shift in Labour policy in comparison to the Jeremy Corbyn era, as the former Labour leader voted against renewing the nuclear weapons system.
Starmer also said he would increase defence spending and update the UK’s nuclear arsenal.
He has been criticised for his claims, with Tory defence secretary Grant Shapps claiming Labour represented a “danger to our national security”.
Shapps said Starmer’s pledge was “meaningless” given a dozen of Labour’s current front benchers voted against renewing Trident in 2016 when Corbyn was in power.
