Motion would have aligned SNP foreign policy with Keri Starmer's

The National

5 hours ago

Normally, the policy formulation dimension represents tweaks to existing policy. On occasion, more pressing issues are debated. Last month's meeting was of the latter type. In the background, subsequently confirmed days later, was the prospect of the US weighing in on the Israeli side in its war with Iran. An act, as the secretary-general of the UN pointed out, that ran a coach and horses through the international rules-based order.
In Perth, on the auditorium screen was a topical motion on the issue in the name of Stephen Gethins MP. Had it passed unamended, it would have upended SNP policy in several areas – not only on the party's position on international nuclear disarmament treaty architecture, but broader issues of national security and indeed adjacent economic policy.
READ MORE: Protesters stage demonstration inside Reform UK's headquarters
Unamended, it would have positioned the SNP group at Westminster behind Keir Starmer and David Lammy's position on the Israel-Iran crisis. It would have also represented a softening of the tone, possibly even the substance, of the critical statements made by other SNP parliamentarians at Westminster and in Holyrood.
The unamended motion read: 'MIDDLE EAST SITUATION – National Council abhors the ongoing violence in the Middle East and recognises that destabilisation in the region is a threat to us all; calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and full access for humanitarian relief; further agrees that Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons but that the best means of stopping that and finding a sustainable solution is through diplomatic means.'
The motion only mentioned Iran and not Israel and was presented in the name of a former professor of international relations. Stephen was not in attendance, so his motion was subsequently moved by another delegate. I proposed that three words – 'be allowed to' – be excised. In the end, my suggestion was acceded to and political embarrassment averted. Other amendments pertaining to the, frankly, barely condemnatory tone on what is going on in Gaza, would have been appropriate but timescales and procedures precluded that.
(Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
At first, I wanted to accept the cock-up theory but after a few days of reflection and being faced with some irrefutable facts, the record needs to be put straight. This must be reflected upon by SNP spokespersons, particularly on matters of war and peace.
It's interesting how in the repertoire of those who used to promote a 'rules-based order that's not the United Nations', they and the mainstream media are very quick to gaslight anyone who says historical context is important. However, when the historical airbrush is applied to the signature diplomatic achievement of Barack Obama, I must speak out.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal that ensured Iran gave up any notion of developing nuclear weapons, was ditched by Donald Trump. My 'textual amendment' reaffirmed SNP adherence to the spirit of the Obama plan. During his first term as president, Trump of course trashed the JCPOA. Now, bizarrely, he appears to want to bomb Iran into a JCPOA-without-the-safeguards.
The SNP seek to achieve the restitution of a sovereign Scottish state. It will be a small state and, as such, on the journey to independence, the recognition of the UN will be indispensable.
However, I am no naive idealist. The world is a dangerous and uncertain place, particularly when you share a border with the Russian Federation or Israel.
Only politicians with links to the arms trade would want to use fear as a key electoral driver. Arguing that man-made global dangers and instability are uniform throughout the world is an understandable though rather unethical marketing tool for arms companies. The truth is, in the bigger scheme of things, some places are a bit safer than others, and Scotland is one of those – a fortunate reality that the independence movement should unapologetically make more of.
Bill Ramsay
SNP CND