On 14 March 2007 , the Labour government won House of Commons support for the plans to renew the submarine system . The proposals were passed by the House of Commons by a majority of 248 . Despite a clarification that the vote was just for the concept stage of the new system , 95 Labour MPs rebelled , and it was only passed with the support of the opposition Conservative Party . It was the first time MPs had been given the chance to vote on whether the UK should remain a nuclear power , and the biggest rebellion since the beginning of the 2003 Iraq War . The Labour government proposed that the final decision to manufacture should be made in 2014 . The new 2010 coalition government agreed " that the renewal of Trident should be scrutinised to ensure value for money . " Research and development work continued with an Initial Gate procurement decision , but the Main Gate decision to manufacture a replacement was rescheduled for 2016 , after the 2015 general election . The vote on whether to replace the '' Vanguard '' - class with the Successor-class was held on 18 July 2016 in the House of Commons ; the motion passed with a significant majority , extending the programme 's life until at least the 2060s . Although 48 Labour MPs voted against it , 41 did not vote , and 140 Labour votes were cast in favour of the motion
2010 coalition government
2010 United Kingdom government formation
Trident (UK nuclear programme)