TRIDENT: HARVIE ON CHANCE TO TIP BALANCE AGAINST RENEWAL
During today's Scottish Parliament debate, Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie spoke of the opportunity presented by a Yes vote in the independence referendum to strengthen the case against renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system.
The Government motion highlighted the predicted cost of around £4billion a year by the mid-2020s.
The Green amendment lodged by Patrick Harvie called for a constitutional ban on nuclear weapons in Scotland and stated support for a global ban on nuclear weapons.
The Labour Party did not lodge any amendment for the debate.
Patrick Harvie MSP said:
"Trident is an absurd relic. Its removal from Scotland would strengthen the case against its renewal by the UK Government.
"A Yes vote shouldn't just be viewed as a chance to move Trident but to scrap it altogether. It was disappointing to hear the Libdems describe CND and its supporters as naive, while Labour simply resorted to the worst kind of hand-wringing on this crucial moral issue.
"Nuclear weapons are unsafe and unstable. They have not kept the peace."