Labor Faces Inner Party Pressure to Sign, Ratify Nuclear Ban Treaty

A rocket launches from missile system as part of a ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile test launched from the Plesetsk facility in northwestern Russia on Dec. 9, 2020. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

Labor is facing pressure to sign and ratify an international treaty banning nuclear weapons, with rank-and-file members worried new submarines are a risk to the party’s longstanding anti-nuclear platform.

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons director Gem Romuld said there would be a renewed push at this week’s national Labor conference after the party outlined a pathway to acquiring nuclear-powered submarines.