BRITAIN’S left must “engage” defence workers and “take them with you” in the fight for nuclear disarmament, TUC deputy general secretary Paul Nowak said yesterday.

Speaking at a talk at The World Transformed, the Momentum-backed programme of fringe events at Labour conference, Mr Nowak said jobs in the nuclear sector would be more adaptable if a Corbyn-led Labour government delivered on its pledge for an industrial renaissance.

There is tension within Labour over nuclear weapons — with party leader Jeremy Corbyn being a longstanding opponent. However, some trade unions support their renewal because of their members employed in the sector.

But Mr Nowak said the implementation of an industrial strategy would make it easier to convince workers that they could shift to other areas of high-skilled manufacturing.

Talk of a “just transition” is met with scepticism in industrial communities due to the failure to replace jobs lost in industries such as mining, he told activists.

Labour peace and disarmament spokesman Fabian Hamilton argued workers employed in the sector also had the skills to do jobs that would “save lives.”

He told the meeting: “We have the brains, let’s use them.”