Labour leader Ed Miliband will have to agree to scrapping a £100 billion plan to replace the United Kingdom's Trident nuclear missiles if he needs support from the Scottish National Party, the Greens and Wales's Plaid Cymru after next May's election.
Leading the formation of "an anti-austerity" alliance in the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon said spending billions on missiles could not be justified when public spending budgets are facing major cuts.
A final decision to begin building a new class of nuclear submarines to replace the existing Vanguards that operate from Faslane on the Clyde must be taken in early 2016, if they are to be ready by 2028 when the Trident missiles are due to end service. However, the existence of the nuclear base in Scotland is deeply unpopular and not just among SNP voters, though transferring the base to a new location in England or Wales would cost billions.
Questioned about the importance of cancelling the Trident replacement, Ms Sturgeon declared: “For me, it would be fundamental, I have never made any bones about this. I am in principle opposed to nuclear weapons.”
Flanked by Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood and leader of the Green Party in England and Wales Natalie Bennett, she said the three parties will do everything “to battle the Westminster parties’ obsession with austerity”.
Challenge for Miliband
The focus on Trident will prove a hurdle for Mr Miliband, if he is faced with needing extra votes after May, since Labour will find it extremely difficult, if not impossible to accept British defence policy will be set by their arch-rivals, the SNP.
None of the three parties is prepared to support the Conservatives if they need Commons votes, but Mr Miliband was warned he would only get support for a minority government on an issue-by-issue basis.
Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne has made it clear spending cuts will continue for years to come and bring the UK back to spending levels last seen during the 1930s, said Ms Bennett, who condemned the plans as "failed, disastrous and utterly inhumane".
The Scottish first minister said the appearance of three female political leaders in Westminster illustrated “the political landscape that has dominated politics for too long” is nearing the end of its life.
The SNP would not “prop up” the Conservatives “formally, or informally”, she said, which “leads to the conclusion” it would be prepared to offer support to Labour, but the SNP would lay down “hard conditions”. Asked why Northern Ireland politicians had not been invited to join the anti-austerity alliance, Ms Sturgeon said she had met with Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness earlier in Downing Street, “but SF do not take their seats”.
However, the three parties will not negotiate jointly with Labour. The SNP and Plaid Cymru, for example, have different opinions about the funding rules that divide treasury money between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Scotland has long been accused of getting a larger share than it deserves, but Wales has argued it gets £1.3 billion less yearly than it should – an argument even the treasury has not sought much to counter.
However, the alliance with the hugely successful SNP could help to amplify the message Plaid – which has been in retreat in Wales for some time – and the Greens are able to deliver to English and Welsh voters.
All three parties are demanding a place in television leaders’ debates before next May: “It is unjustifiable and undemocratic to exclude our three parties from proposed leaders’ debates,” said Ms Wood, adding that voters have the right to question every party.
