LABOUR has committed to retaining the country's nuclear deterrent in a motion put forward by members in Furness.

Delegates at Labour's conference in Liverpool passed a defence motion moved by the Barrow and Furness branch of the party.

Under former leader Jeremy Corbyn, a number of senior Labour figures opposed renewing Britain's nuclear deterrent, which includes submarines built in Barrow.

The motion saw the conference agree that a future Labour government 'must ensure Britain is properly equipped to take on the threats facing the country'.

The motion said Labour’s support for NATO, the UK’s nuclear deterrent and armed forces, 'will remain absolute' and agreed that a Labour government would 'seek new alliances and deepen others to strengthen our resilience to new threats'.

It also agreed that Labour would invest in the UK’s defence manufacturing base and ensure Britain takes an 'active role in international efforts to secure strategic arms limitation and multilateral disarmament'.

Labour has previously said its support for the nuclear deterrent is 'non-negotiable'.

Controversy surrounded the Labour party going into the last General Election in 2019 when then-leader Mr Corbyn was viewed as opposed to nuclear weapons and the renewal of Britain's nuclear deterrent.

Amid fears for Barrow's shipyard, the party and unions stressed that Labour was committed to the Trident submarine programme.

It followed comments made by the then defence secretary Ben Wallace who said during a visit that Mr Corbyn 'would kill Barrow's shipyard by a thousand cuts'.

During the election campaign Nia Griffith, the then shadow defence secretary, accused the Conservatives of ‘making mischief’ in saying a Labour government would not be committed to the shipyard.

Labour's shadow armed forces Luke Pollard reaffirmed the commitment in a visit to the shipyard last month. 

He said: "I’ve been in Barrow in Cumbria visiting BAE Systems' shipyard that builds the Royal Navy’s world-class submarines.

"Incredible seeing the work on the Astute and Dreadnought boats in person.

"Labour backs the nuclear deterrent and are committed to building the Astute and Dreadnought submarines and the future submarines from the collaboration with the US and Australia in AUKUS. Submarine jobs in Barrow, Devonport and across the UK supply chain are safe with Labour."