Scottish Greens Want Trident System 'to Be Decommissioned, Taken Apart'

Moving the base of the UK Trident nuclear submarines out of Scotland is not a viable solution for the problem of the use of nuclear weapons, Co-convener of the Scottish Green Party Maggie Chapman told Sputnik on Tuesday.

DUNDEE (Sputnik) — Currently, the Scottish Green Party, the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Scottish Labour oppose the renewal of Trident which could cost the United Kingdom between $44 billion and $240 billion to build and maintain over its lifetime. However, the SNP and Scottish Labour back only the removal of Trident out Scotland and not the decommissioning of the nuclear weapons system.

"The SNP and Scottish Labour just want to have the nuclear weapons system moved out of Scotland, but we want them to be decommissioned, taken apart so that they cannot be used anywhere or by anybody. We don't see it being a viable solution just taking the problem out of Scotland," Chapman said.

Chapman added that she urged the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) to reaffirm its opposition to Trident.

Earlier, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale confirmed opposition to Trident would be included in her party's manifesto ahead of the Scottish parliamentary elections to be held on May 5, despite saying that she personally supported renewal of Trident.

This prompted Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson to issue a statement Tuesday in which she accused Labour of being in a "tortuous position on our national defense".

The Trident system is deployed at the UK Royal Navy’s Faslane naval base in Scotland, the United Kingdom’s only facility capable of hosting the four Vanguard-class ballistic missile-equipped submarines.