NORTHERN Ireland Unionist MPs have repeated their invite to the UK Government to transfer the country’s nuclear deterrent to the province.
During the Commons debate on Trident renewal, both the DUP’s Ian Paisley and Danny Kinahan of the UUP said Ulster would welcome the jobs that go along with the naval base if there was an overwhelming opposition in Scotland.
READ MORE: SNP accused of "political posturing" after calling for Trident to be removed from Scotland
Westminster voted on Monday to replace the Clyde-based Trident, as the SNP leadership suggested the controversial decision would accelerate the move towards Scottish independence.
The Conservative Government won the vote comfortably with 472 votes to 117, a majority of 355. All 54 SNP MPs opposed the motion.
North Antrim MP Mr Paisley said he stands “proudly behind the Government” in supporting renewed investment in Trident. He told his fellow MPs that Prime Minister Theresa May was to be congratulated for allowing Parliament to have the final say on the nuclear deterrent.
Mr Paisley said: “Could I encourage her to encourage the Scottish nationalists, that if they don’t want Trident jobs in Scotland, they will be happily taken in Northern Ireland.”
READ MORE: Poll: Should MPs vote to renew Britain's nuclear deterrent, the Trident submarine system
Mr Kinahan, the Ulster Unionist MP for South Antrim, said: “I’m sure we will be more than happy to house the Trident programme and all of the thousands of jobs that go with it in our Province.”
The Belfast-based Newsletter said that "some estimates" put the number of people directly employed by the nuclear submarine fleet at 30,000.
But recent figures released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) under freedom of information law reveal that only 520 civilian jobs at Faslane and Coulport near Helensburgh are directly dependent on Trident.
The number of jobs cited as dependent on the base vary amongst supporters of Trident, based at Faslane near Helensburgh, at between 6000 and 11,000.
It is the second overture made by Northern Ireland Unionists to the UK Government over Trident in the past year. But even if it were to move from the Upper Clyde there are major question marks over whether the arsenal could be viably located across the North Channel.
DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson recently said Belfast Lough was the only suitable location in Northern Ireland and while Lough Foyle was an important naval base during World War Two it would have to be artificially deepened.
However, Lough Foyle, like Carlingford Lough in the south east, border the Irish Republic and a maritime boundary dispute continued to rumble on as recently as 2005.
Strangford Lough would also be too shallow.
READ MORE: SNP accused of "political posturing" after calling for Trident to be removed from Scotland
Recent discussions at Westminster over the possible relocation of Trident made no mention of Northern Ireland, with only Barrow in Cumbria, Milford haven in west Wales and Devonport in Plymouth referenced.
The DUP's Nigel Dodds, Ian Paisley, Gavin Robinson, Jim Shannon and David Simpson voted in favour. As too did the UUP's two MPs Tom Elliott and Danny Kinahan.
The Nationalist SDLP's Mark Durkan, Alastair McDonnell and Margaret Ritchie all voted against. Sinn Fein's four MPs do not take their Westminster seats.
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