Trident will be outlawed – SNP

IssueNovember 2012
News by Leonna O'Neill

Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond (of the Scottish Nationalist Party, SNP) has announced that if Scots vote for independence in the 2014 referendum, the nation's new constitution would explicitly outlaw nuclear weapons.

The proposal was announced on 7 October, a day after the pro-independence Scottish Green Party unanimously passed a resolution stating that an independent Scotland under the Greens would not have nuclear weapons and would not be party to any nuclear weapons alliances.

Anti-nuclear campaigners in Scotland have welcomed the SNP move which would see Trident ejected from Scotland and a ban on nuclear weapons on Scottish soil and in Scottish waters. 

Jane Tallents of Trident Ploughshares stated: 'in recent years we have been urging the SNP and the Scottish government to make a strong statement about the illegality of Trident and this proposal for a constitutional ban is a clear step in that direction'.

However, the announcement comes amid mounting internal and public opposition to the SNP leadership's proposal that an independent Scotland would be part of NATO. 

The resolution was due for a vote at the SNP party conference in Perth as PN went to press.

See more of: Scotland