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NATIONALIST MPs would refuse to support a minority Labour government after the next election unless Trident nuclear missiles were scrapped, the Morning Star can reveal.
Polls show that more than twenty SNP MPs could be returned to Parliament in May along with Plaid Cymru’s three current members.
They could hold the balance of power if the Lib Dems fail to win enough seats in the Commons to form a majority with either the Tories or Labour.
Plaid MP Jonathan Edwards told the Star that stopping Trident’s renewal would be a “massive red line” in any negotiations with Ed Miliband.
“We would not support a government that’s committed to new nuclear weapons,” he said in an interview on the eve of Plaid’s annual conference.
“If you’re going to pursue savage cutbacks to public services, how can you justify spending £100 billion on a new nuclear weapons system that is completely obsolete?”
CND general secretary Kate Hudson welcomed his statement yesterday and called on all parties to make their position on Trident clear before voters head to the ballot box.
She told the Star: “The possibility of a Labour-led government is strong, but working with whom?
“Whichever way you look at it, Trident is a major factor. SNP, Plaid Cymru and Greens all have clear anti-Trident policy and even the Lib Dems back nuclear reductions.
“This is the policy that the ‘main’ parties are most out-of-step on — the majority of the population backs scrapping Trident.”
Nationalist MPs would not enter into a formal coalition with Labour in the event of a hung Parliament.
They would instead support the government in key votes and help to pass its budget in exchange for concessions.
A similar situation arose in 1979 when Plaid Cymru’s three MPs backed then Labour PM James Callaghan in a vote of no confidence called by Margaret Thatcher.
But the motion was carried by one vote and Ms Thatcher went on to win the subsequent general election.
Mr Edwards ruled out co-operation with the Conservatives.
And he added: “Labour would have to shift considerably from where it is at the moment.”
