Ross Greer: Scottish independence can rid us of nuclear abomination
The news radioactive water leaked into beautiful Loch Long should concern everyone, though for those of us familiar with the safety record at Coulport, it was no surprise.
Far from an isolated event, we now know that Faslane also saw over 100 reported safety incidents over the last 12 months, including a Category A event earlier this year, the most serious category and one that the Royal Navy says carries an 'actual or high potential for radioactive release to the environment'.
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At no point has the UK Government shown any concern for local people or the environment. They didn't even tell locals about these toxic leaks and tried to keep the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) reports a secret.
Fortunately, dogged journalists like Rob Edwards forced it all into the open, with the Information Commissioner ruling that self-inflicted damage to the Ministry of Defence's reputation is not the same thing as risking national security.
For far too long, the MoD has played fast and loose with these weapons of mass slaughter, throwing billions of pounds at private contractors whilst failing to even maintain their own facilities.
It shows negligence at the highest levels, putting the public at risk. There are few sites as dangerous as Coulport, where the nuclear warheads are kept. An accident or shoddy maintenance there could have such potentially catastrophic consequences.
For people who live in the local area – the communities I represent – it has been particularly chilling to find out that this not only happened but that it was initially covered up to save the embarrassment of the Navy.
At the heart of the debate about Britain's nuclear weapons, there is a grave mistruth. Faslane and its nuclear arsenal doesn't exist to keep us safe. It exists for one reason and that is to save the UK seat on the UN Security Council and maintain the delusion that this country is still a global superpower.
Former CND member Tony Blair admitted as much in his autobiography, writing that 'The expense is huge and the utility [of Trident is] non-existent in terms of military use' but arguing that giving it up would be 'too big a downgrading of our status as a nation'.
It's also one of the many issues where the current foreign secretary, David Lammy, has forgotten his principles and reversed his position.
Last time the issue was debated in the Commons, in 2016 he gave an impassioned speech, saying that 'as a matter of conscience' he would be voting against Trident renewal as he 'simply [could] not accept that there can ever be circumstances in which it would be permissible to deliberately target millions of innocent civilians in this way'.
Lammy, also once a CND member, rightly said he could not 'vote in favour of writing a blank cheque for billions of pounds today when so many of my constituents are living in deprivation and when public services are stretched beyond breaking point.'
Isn't it funny how easy Labour finds it to ditch their principles and sideline the needs of their constituents when it's their turn to sit at the top table.
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Putting the moral obscenity of nuclear weapons at the heart of our case for independence isn't just about finally getting Trident out of Scotland.
It would also force a fundamental rethink of the UK's whole nuclear programme and see how willing Lammy, Blair and those like them are to have them in their own backyard.
During the 2014 referendum I was proud that opposition to these weapons of mass killing played such a central and defining role in our campaign and our case for a different Scotland.
Wherever I went, from protests and demonstrations to town hall gatherings and community meetings, it was clear how entwined the arguments for independence and a nuclear-free Scotland are – and how deep that sense of opposition is.
We can't ever lose sight of that. It is one of the key reasons why the Scottish Greens do not and will not support Nato membership for an independent Scotland.
Why would we want to join an organisation committed to nuclear weapons and a first-strike policy when we are trying to remove the same moral evil from our shores?
The UK Government tried to assure us that the revelations forced out by journalists are nothing to worry about and that the nuclear warheads are perfectly safe. This is dangerous nonsense designed to normalise the permanent danger of possessing an arsenal that could wipe out the world's population.
Scotland one day joining the many countries around the world who have signed up to the international treaty against nuclear weapons will always be key to my support for independence. It would be a triumph for world peace, and a burden off the shoulders of those who have to live in the shadow of these moral abominations.
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