Image copyright PA Image caption Plans are being made to renew Trident nuclear weapons which are based at Faslane on the Clyde

MSPs at Holyrood have voted by 96 to 17 for a motion calling on the UK government to drop plans to renew Trident nuclear weapons.

Ahead of the vote, minister Keith Brown opened a debate on the issue.

He criticised the billions earmarked to replace the weapons programme and questioned why the money could not be spent to offset welfare cuts.

Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie was the only Labour member to vote against the call to reject renewal.

The politician, whose constituency includes Faslane naval base which houses Trident, said: "Faslane is the single biggest site employer in Scotland. More than a quarter of West Dunbartonshire's full-time workforce are employed there in good-quality well-paid jobs.

"The SNP don't want to talk about jobs, [there is] not one mention of jobs in their motion today. The SNP are all about gesture politics, no concern for the workers, only for their position in the polls."

Conservative MSP John Lamont told the chamber that Labour was "muddled" on the issue.

Holding different views

At its conference in Perth at the weekend, Scottish Labour members voted against renewal.

That has resulted in UK leader Jeremy Corbyn and Scottish leader Kezia Dugdale holding different views from each other and from their own parties.

The UK Labour position continues to be to support the continuation of Trident, but Mr Corbyn is firmly against .

Meanwhile, Ms Dugdale supports multilateral disarmament, even though 70% of votes at her party's conference were in favour of the UK getting rid of its nuclear deterrent.

However, Labour MSP Claire Baker told the Holyrood debate that opposition to Trident renewal was her party's "clear position".

Image copyright PA Image caption Delegates at the Scottish Labour Party conference in Perth voted on the issue of Trident renewal

She said: "For Scottish Labour on Sunday, the arguments for opposing Trident won the day because they presented a strong case for Trident renewal being the wrong choice at the wrong time.

"But beyond that there was also a strong, fundamental argument against nuclear weapons."

Ms Baker added: "But a decision to cancel Trident is not without significant consequences for the workforce and the communities who rely on these jobs.

"We cannot underestimate what the cancellation would mean to the communities of Faslane and Coulport."

'Writing a blank cheque'

Tory politician Mr Lamont said it was too simplistic to present the issue as a choice between protecting "our country" and "providing support for vulnerable people".

He added: "The truth is that by unilaterally getting rid of our nuclear deterrent the UK's national security would be severely damaged and other states may even be encouraged to acquire their own nuclear weapons as a consequence."

However, Mr Brown insisted it was wrong for the UK government to be contemplating building a new nuclear weapons launch system while, at the same time, introducing "massive cuts to welfare".

He told the chamber: "The UK government remains enthral to nuclear weapons and it appears fixed on writing a blank cheque for their renewal, and it seems to do without clarity or debate on the implications of those decisions, whether for conventional defence forces and equipment or for wider public spending."

The Scottish Greens criticised other parties' failure to take a consistent and principled stance against nuclear weapons.