An independent Scotland will ban nuclear weapons from its territory, First Minister Humza Yousaf has promised.
Yousaf, the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), made the pledge as he revealed that his party would introduce a written constitution for Scotland if it secures independence.
Speaking ahead of the launch of the latest Building a New Scotland prospectus paper detailing the plans, the first minister said the drafting of a new constitution would enable people in Scotland to shape the new country.
Part of the plan is to ban nuclear weapons from Scotland, which currently hosts submarine-based Trident nuclear weapons—Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent—in its Faslane naval base on Gare Loch.
But opposition parties have criticised the SNP’s plans, calling it “out of touch” and accusing it of focusing on the “wrong priorities.”
Independence ‘Urgent’
The SNP has long opposed the presence of nuclear weapons in Scotland.As early as 2014, Yousaf’s predecessor Nicola Sturgeon said the removal of nuclear weapons from Scottish soil should be part of a post-independence constitution.
“Scottish taxpayers have been paying to have one of the largest concentrations of nuclear weapons in Europe on our doorsteps. It’s high time that comes to an end,” said Sturgeon, who was Scotland’s deputy first minister at the time.
Commenting on the new prospectus paper, Yousaf said the plans will “provide an opportunity for people in Scotland to shape the newly independent country and create a permanent, modern, written constitution to describe the type of country Scotland would be and how it would be governed.”
“Successive UK governments have taken Scotland in the wrong direction and with independence we would radically shift where power lies and put it back in the hands of the people who live in Scotland.”
He said the proposed constitution will introduce “a constitutional right to health care available at the point of need, a right to an adequate standard of living as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and protection for workers to take industrial action.”
“What we will not see under these proposals, are nuclear weapons on the Clyde. This proposed constitution would ban nuclear weapons from an independent Scotland,” he added.
‘Self-Indulgent’
Opposition parties branded Yousaf’s new plan as “self-indulgent” and “out of touch.”Donald Cameron, Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for the constitution, external affairs, and culture, said: “Once again, the SNP are focusing on the wrong priorities at the worst possible time. Humza Yousaf had the opportunity to scrap these self-indulgent independence papers and refocus on what really matters to Scotland.
“The fact that he is continuing to waste government resources on these unwanted and irrelevant papers just proves that he is determined to continue with Nicola Sturgeon’s divisive agenda.
“Hardworking Scots will be outraged to see their taxpayer funding going toward an imaginary constitution, when the SNP’s full focus should be on supporting struggling public services, fixing our NHS and tackling the cost-of-living crisis.”
Cameron stressed that the nuclear deterrent is “vital” and it would be dangerous to remove it.
He said: “The appalling war in Ukraine has reminded us all that a military deterrent is still a vital part of our national defence. The SNP’s plans to write a nuclear weapons ban into the fabric of an independent Scotland shows how dangerously out-of-touch they really are.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton also called the SNP “completely out of touch.”
“Deploying more civil servants, money and time into independence is an insult to everyone waiting for help with the cost-of-living crisis, on lifeline ferries, or for critical operations and treatments,” he said.
