Political row over the future of nuclear weapons at base

Oct 24 2008 by Tina Kemp, Lennox Herald

A FRESH row has erupted over the future of Faslane Naval Base.

Defence Secretary John Hutton visited the base last week to reinforce the government’s pledge to keep nuclear weapons in Scotland.

But the SNP, which has committed itself to ridding the country of the weapons, used his visit to reinforce its message that Trident must go.

Westminster’s plans to replace the ageing Trident system are a direct challenge to the Scottish Government’s efforts to have it removed.

Mr Hutton described Faslane as “a vital part of our country’s defence” and said any decision to scrap Trident and its replacement would be an “incredible folly” and an act of “national vandalism”.

But Shadow Defence Minister, Angus Robertson, warned that rather than safeguarding employment, replacing Trident could cost Scotland and the Clyde 3000 jobs.

He said: “Only a few weeks back I was in Helensburgh debating this very subject and the majority view there was that nuclear weapons should not be retained. The SNP is committed to a conventional future for Faslane and the question is why the UK government is not?

“The churches, the STUC and a majority of the people of Scotland have voiced their opposition to Trident and any replacement. A majority of Scotland’s MPs and the Scottish Parliament have voted against a Trident replacement.

“By making this restatement of the Labour Government’s obsession with Trident John Hutton has once again shown that Labour is out of touch.”

Last year, the STUC and Scottish CND produced a report which claimed the number of Trident-dependent jobs was closer to 1500 and not the 11,000 claimed by Trident supporters.

It described the cancellation of the weapons system as a “huge opportunity for new productive investment in the Scottish economy” saying up to 4000 jobs could be created.

The row comes as a report last week revealed the Royal Navy has had to scrape around for spare parts because it can no longer afford to hold sufficient stocks to meet the repair needs of all of its vessels.

The nuclear submarine flotilla was the worst affected, with 188 instances of equipment being moved between boats to allow operational patrols, many from Faslane, to take place.