Analysis: Spending review, not Trident, is real test for Labour under Corbyn

Labour MPs have been ordered to stay away today when the SNP stages a vote on the renewal of the UK’s Trident nuclear deterrent.

The party’s split on the issue is hardly a secret but there is no reason to put those divisions on show for the sake of a non-binding vote - especially when the last thing Labour wants to do is distract from the cuts to Government spending George Osborne will announce tomorrrow.

But for all Labour’s difficulties with the Trident issue, it will not define the longevity or otherwise of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

Nuclear weapons is to Labour as Europe is to the Conservatives, an issue around which it is impossible to unite the party.

Nukes have always prompted problems for Labour leaders. Pro or anti, there has always been a sizeable number of backbenchers vocally taking the alternative viewpoint.

Corbyn will not be ousted by his party because it is divided over Trident. But his future will come into question if the party offers an incoherent response to Mr Osborne’s spending review.

The signs were not good yesterday when Mr Corbyn responded to the Government’s announcement on defence spending by talking about police cuts.

Labour’s response to the Government’s spending plans tomorrow, and in the weeks to come, must go beyond “cuts are bad”.

Voters don’t like politicians who cut but electoral history shows they also punish politicians who cannot present a credible alternative.