Britain's Labour party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, applauds during the party's annual conference in Brighton, southern England, Sunday Sept. 27, 2015. For six decades, British governments have considered unilateral nuclear disarmament unthinkable - but the once-unthinkable is the Labour Party's new normal. Britain's main opposition party has just elected a leader from the radical left, and this week party members may commit a future Labour government to scrapping Britain's Trident nuclear arms program. (Gareth Fuller/PA Via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE
The Associated Press
LONDON (AP) - Britain's Labour Party has decided to leave the country's nuclear weapons alone.
The opposition party's new leader, Jeremy Corbyn, opposes atomic weapons, and had said the issue would be debated at the party's annual conference.
But after Labour-supporting trade unions said they would vote to keep nuclear weapons and protect thousands of defense jobs, delegates dropped the issue from the conference agenda Sunday.
It's a setback for left-winger Corbyn, who wants the party to consider policies long considered off the agenda, from nationalizing industry to diverging on foreign policy from the U.S.
He said earlier Sunday that Britain should get rid of its "weapon of mass destruction."
Britain has been a nuclear power since the 1950s, and both Labour and Conservative governments have long supported atomic weapons.
Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, left, with deputy leader Tom Watson, centre, listen to speeches during the Labour Party annual conference at the Brighton Centre in Brighton, England, Sunday Sept. 27, 2015. For six decades, British governments have considered unilateral nuclear disarmament unthinkable, but the newly elected radical left-wing leader Corbyn, and his party members may commit a future Labour government to scrapping Britain's Trident nuclear arms program. (Gareth Fuller / PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES
The Associated Press
Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, listens to speeches during the Labour Party annual conference at the Brighton Centre in Brighton, England, Sunday Sept. 27, 2015. For six decades, British governments have considered unilateral nuclear disarmament unthinkable, but the newly elected radical left-wing leader Corbyn, and his party members may commit a future Labour government to scrapping Britain's Trident nuclear arms program. (Gareth Fuller / PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES
The Associated Press
Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, centre, is greeted by supporters and the party's deputy leader Tom Watson centre right, upon his arrival, prior to the start of the annual Labour party conference at the Brighton Centre, in Brighton, England, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT
The Associated Press