Potential UK Trident Renewal Non-Democratic - SNP

Renewal of the UK nuclear deterrent based in Scottish waters may be considered a constitutional issue, as it runs counter to the democratic will of the Scottish people, Chris Law, a SNP candidate for Dundee West in the current election, told Sputnik.

DUNDEE (Sputnik), Anastasia Levchenko – In the run-up to the May 7 general election in Britain the issue of the renewal of nuclear submarines armed with Trident missiles has become one of the major points of contention. The Conservatives advocate the replacement of submarines with more modern ones, the SNP strongly opposes it, and Labour is split.

"It is actually a constitutional issue to some degree. It is against the democratic will of the people of Scotland."

Britain currently operates four Trident submarines out of the Faslane area of Scotland, the only facility in the United Kingdom able to accommodate the country's nuclear deterrent.

Law explained that non-renewal of the submarines armed with nuclear missiles would ultimately mean their removal, which is ultimately SNP's objective.

It is very likely that any Conservative initiative on Trident will be blocked in the next parliament as the SNP is likely to have a strong presence in Westminster, and two thirds of the Labour Party opposes renewal as well, Law said.

Opposition to Austerity Main Reason for SNP’s Growing Popularity

The Scottish National Party's pledge to end austerity is what is behind the party's growing popularity, Chris Law said.

The SNP's popularity is on an all-time high ahead of the upcoming May 7 general election. According to the recent polls, the party's popularity in Scotland is almost at 50 percent, while its traditional rival Labour stands at around 20 percent.

"The key point of the SNP popularity is anti-austerity. SNP is the only party that does not support austerity and erosion of public services," Law said, adding that what the SNP advocates is "traditional British values."

Labour, instead, are "not reaching far enough to protect the most vulnerable in society," Law explained.

The SNP candidate lashed out at the major parties for lacking a "progressive agenda" adding that the SNP is not only "having a clear vision" of the UK future, but also "delivering it."

SNP to Offer Labour Support in Exchange for Greater Scottish Autonomy

Labour will have to deliver its promises on greater Scottish autonomy if it is counting on the SNP's support in Parliament after the upcoming elections, Law said.

"Last September they [Labour] promised that, in [former Labour Leader] Gordon Brown's own words, it is going to be Home Rule. So far, they have not kept their promise."

In September 2014, prior to the Scottish independence referendum, Gordon Brown unveiled a deal agreed with both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats on extending more powers to the Scottish Parliament.

The three parties made a "vow" on the further devolution of powers for Scotland just days before the referendum, and immediately after the voters said "No," the so-called Smith Commission was announced to work out the details of delivering more powers to Scotland. Chris Law was one of the direct participants in the Smith Commission.

The result of the commission was a complete "watering down" and retrieval even on the very principle of bringing real powers to Scotland, Law said.

"So I think if the SNP has a strong team of MPs in London, and Labour need to get our support, they need to realize: if you make a promise, you need to deliver," Law told Sputnik.

Although the issue of a new independence referendum is not on the agenda of the current campaign, the need for Scotland's fiscal autonomy is in the spotlight. The SNP candidate, however, doubts the issue will be considered at Westminster in the near future.

"The difficulty we are facing is that none of the major parties has said it would support it [fiscal autonomy for Scotland]. And even if they did support it, it would take a number of years to implement," Law explained.