Renewal of Trident another nail in coffin of union

SOMETIMES you catch glimpses of them from the shore. Sinister shapes sneaking out of the Gareloch to secretly patrol the oceans, threatening havoc on an unimaginable scale.

The UK Government’s four Vanguard submarines, armed with Trident nuclear missile systems, regularly leave their base at Faslane, near Helensburgh to perform what the Ministry of Defence calls “continuous at-sea deterrence”.

For decades it has not been clear whom they are meant to be deterring. Iraq? Russia? North Korea? Al-Qaeda? Islamic State? They haven’t stopped foreign invasions, nuclear test explosions, planes flying into towers, suicide bombers in marketplaces, gunmen in concert halls – or a lorry careering along a crowded seafront on the French Riviera.

The justification for threatening to kill millions by flattening and poisoning cities has never seemed so useless and so immoral. And that’s before we consider the cost – £167 billion.

When the UK is facing deepening austerity as it exits the EU, why is it contemplating wasting so much money renewing a weapon that is so supremely pointless? It could be used to alleviate poverty, improve our ageing infrastructure, and build up our conventional defences.

Even the argument that the UK needs Trident to shore up British influence, like some kind of phallic symbol, is based on a false premise. As we report today, Trident is more American than British – dependent on US satellites, software and hardware.

Britain’s possession of the ultimate weapon of mass destruction gives other countries an excuse to develop their own. If instead it joined the vast majority of countries in agreeing to ban nuclear weapons in talks planned over the next few years, the world would become a safer place.

Scotland was never asked if it wanted nuclear weapons on its territory. Every recent test of public opinion suggests the majority of Scots – and Scottish politicians – do not.

Renewing Trident will deepen the huge gulf between Holyrood and Westminster. Renewal will further underscore the need for independence, and bring more Scots voters to the Yes cause. In seeking to bolster its nuclear swagger, the UK will be hammering another nail into the coffin of a doomed union.