Liberal Democrat activists will be asked to back calls for an end to routine nuclear-armed submarine patrols at their annual conference in Glasgow next month.

The move would commit the party to a significant scaling back of the nuclear deterrent in the Clyde.

It follows a Coalition Government review of plans to replace the ageing Trident fleet. That recommended billions of pounds could be saved by cutting the number of submarines from four to two.

Such a move would end the current principle of a "continuous at sea deterrent" supported by the LibDems' Coalition partners the Conservatives.

The LibDem proposals, in a defence policy paper, call for the UK to abandon round-the-clock patrols and to commit to putting the submarines to sea unarmed, except in the event of a "deteriorating security picture".

The motion says that the LibDems are "wholly unconvinced that Britain needs to renew it's submarine-based nuclear weapons system on the same Cold War scale as the system designed in 1980".

Delegates will also be asked to back a call to bring back the 50p top rate of tax and to abandon opposition to student tuition fees.

In a message to his party, leader Nick Clegg said creating jobs must be the top priority but also said his party would "make the positive case for Scotland's continued place in the UK family".

Controversy is expected over the call for the party to abandon its policy of opposition to tuition fees. Mr Clegg was forced to apologise this time last year for his U-turn on increasing fees.