Abandoning support for Britain's nuclear deterrent could cost Labour at the ballot box, one of the party's whips has warned.

Conor McGinn said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn needed to understand that his Islington constituency in north London - often seen as a bastion of support for radical causes like unilateral nuclear disarmament - was "not like the rest of the country".

The MP for St Helens North, who entered parliament for the first time in last year's general election, said there was a danger the party could appear preoccupied with issues that were "insignificant" to the wider population.

In comments likely to be seen as a coded warning to Mr Corbyn, he hit out at what he said was a tendency among "sections of the left" to "sneer" at the concerns of traditional Labour working class voters.

Mr Corbyn has made clear his determination to reverse Labour's support for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent despite the opposition of many of the party's MPs, including senior frontbenchers such as Tom Watson and Hilary Benn.

Trident missiles would be carried in Successor class submarines, which would be built in Barrow and replace the Vanguard class boats.

In an interview with Parliament's The House magazine, Mr McGinn said he would be among those backing its retention.

"Defence might not win you a lot of votes, but it can definitely lose you a lot of votes if you're not in the right place on it," he said.

"Labour has a proud history when it comes to Britain's place in the world, and whether that's our membership of Nato, the nuclear deterrent, support for the armed forces, or not being afraid to intervene in the best spirit and sense of internationalism, and humanitarianism - that has got to be Labour's future as well."

In the wake of last year's general election defeat, Mr McGinn said Labour needed to "move closer to the public, not further away from the public," suggesting that Mr Corbyn was overly influenced by the particular politics of his constituency.

"I think the challenge for Jeremy having been an MP for 30-odd years for a seat like Islington, is how he relates to the rest of the country," he said.

Mr McGinn said it was a "real problem" for the party that many among the "traditional Labour working class" felt there was now no-one to speak for them.

For many such people the priorities were a secure job with a decent wage that enabled them to afford their own home, put something away for their retirement, while taking an annual holiday away and changing their car every couple of years.

"The problem with sections of the left is that they sneer at people like that," he said.

"There is a patrician socialism that not only wants to tell working class people what's best for them, but what they should and shouldn't think. I think if we are to have a genuine revival in the politics of the left, then we need to start listening to people and hearing their truths."