An independent Scotland should also be nuclear-free

Nuclear explosion mushroom cloud


Support us and go ad-free

HM Naval Base Clyde, known as Faslane, is the Royal Navy’s main base in Scotland and home to the UK’s Trident “nuclear deterrent”. It also houses a “new generation of hunter-killer submarines”, which are the Royal Navy’s most powerful and advanced submarines ever.  According to the perverse logic of doomsday weaponry supporters, Trident ensures peace. This is based on a sort of ‘reassuring’ belief that nobody would dare attack the UK for fear the UK would retaliate with a nuclear strike.

Protesters have had an anti-nuclear peace camp outside Faslane for almost 40 years. They more realistically describe Trident as being:

ready and willing to blast even the last remains of the realm of the living beyond survival instead of noticing that killing for peace is like – pardon the language – copulating for virginity.

On Saturday 28 August, some members of the Scottish independence movement are holding an anti-nuclear rally at Faslane:

The dangers of nuclear weapons

An explainer video by filmmaker Phantom Power succinctly outlines the dangers and cost of nuclear weapons:

Archive footage in the video explains that:

A one-mega-tonne bomb exploded 7,000 feet above the House of Commons would create a fireball over a mile across. Houses would simply explode; people would disappear.

The video goes on to say that Faslane houses eight nuclear-powered submarines, with “4 more due to arrive”. It claims there have been “over 500 ‘significant’ health and safety incidents since 2006” at the naval base. One such incident involved a near miss between a ferry and a nuclear submarine. Lorries transporting nuclear materials to and from the base, pass through populated areas once every two months. And since the year 2000, there have been 180 safety incidents on these convoys.

The video also claims that the nuclear bombs carried on a number of Faslane’s submarines could, if detonated, be as detrimental as “800 Hiroshimas”.

In 2016, the UK government decided to “renew our nuclear deterrent”. This renewal is reported to cost £205bn. According to Phantom Power’s video, this would be enough to fund two NHS budgets or “100 years of free public transport”.

The protests continue

Today’s protest takes place shortly after the 40th anniversary of the start of a women’s anti-nuclear camp at Greenham Common. This movement of women opposed the storing of US nuclear warheads at an RAF base. And at its height, the movement:

gathered more than 70,000 women for direct action and became the biggest female-led protest since women’s suffrage

That was just one year before the peace camp at Faslane started. Today, a diverse range of people and independence groups are taking part in the anti-nuclear protest:

Time for an independent and nuclear-free Scotland

As the campaign for Scottish independence appears to be gaining momentum, the movement is outlining its nuclear-free vision. All Under One Banner says:

These weapons of mass destruction play no useful roll and they put all of us at risk. They only exist as a means of providing the UK Govt with a seat at the table with other imperialist powers who seek to dominate, both politically & economically, the world by military power.

There are already 197 countries who don’t have nuclear weapons, and there’s every reason for an independent Scotland to join them.

Featured image via Pixabay – WikiImages

Support us and go ad-free

We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support

The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.

The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.

So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.

Support us
  • Show Comments

    1. A lot of people depend on the nuclear facilities for thier income.
      So much so that any declaration of removing the deterrent will likely mean a candidate would lose.

      Personally I suggest an alternative £100bn industry that would ensure continued employment of everyone involved. Maybe nuclear waste recycling? There’s been some interesting developments in this area where nuclear waste is converted into low yield batteries that last 5000 years.

      Report comment

      1. You have missed the point completely – an Independent Scotland WILL BE nuclear free. That includes processing nuclear waste. Faslane has been earmarked as the base for an Independent Scotland’s navy. Currently under Westminster rule, Scotland has no offshore patrol vessels. Nearest ship is based in the south of England. As Scotland has the largest area of territorial waters in the UK, that is a national disgrace and something that Westminster should be ashamed of.

        Report comment

    Leave a Reply

    Join the conversation

    Please read our comment moderation policy here.

Related articles