However senior figures in the party made clear their opposition to any change in stance on Trident in a string on television and radio interviews on Sunday.
Asked if he would quit the front bench if policy on Trident was changed, Lord Falconer said: “Let’s see what happens in relation to that, but I’m clear that I support Trident remaining.”
Mr Smith said he was not the “resigning type” when asked if he considered stepping back over reshuffle appointments but was less equivocal when discussing Trident.
Asked if he would leave the shadow cabinet if forced to back unilateral disarmament, Mr Smith said: “Well, that would be difficult for me, but I think the key thing that I would do is stick in the run-up to that decision and make the case.”
Pushed again, he said: “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. ... I’ll wait until I get to the point where I’ve got to make those sorts of decisions, as will others.”
Ms Powell became the third shadow cabinet minister on Sunday to not rule out quitting if made to back unilateral nuclear disarmament, saying “we’ll see when we get there”.
However she played down the likelihood of that happening, saying she would be “very surprised” if scrapping nuclear weapons ahead of other nations became Labour party policy.
The comments reflect the difference in opinion between Mr Corbyn, a lifelong opponent of Trident, and many of those serving in his shadow cabinet.
The tensions are likely to come to a head in the coming months with a vote on Trident renewal due as early as March.
There was also another resignation yesterday as a Labour MP quit a review into child poverty after accusing Mr McDonnell of backing her into a “corner” with public criticism.
Alison McGovern, who chairs the Blairite group Progress, told BBC’s Sunday Politics programme that she could no longer work with the leadership.
It came after Mr McDonnell suggested her group helped coordinated the resignation of three shadow ministers after Jeremy Corbyn’s reshuffle.
Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/579309/s/4cc38d70/sc/13/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cnews0Cpolitics0CJeremy0ICorbyn0C120A920A850CThree0ELabour0Eshadow0Ecabinet0Eministers0Efail0Eto0Erule0Eout0Equitting0Eif0Esupport0Efor0ETrident0Eis0Edropped0Bhtml/story01.htm
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