Scottish National Party Leaves New Referendum on Table Over Trident Renewal

Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon has left open the possibility of another independence referendum should London press on with renewing the United Kingdom's Trident nuclear deterrent program.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The issue of renewing the Scotland-based Trident nuclear deterrent program has become a point of contention in the run-up to Thursday's UK-wide election.

Trident, with a projected renewal cost comparable to the country's 2013/2014 healthcare budget, is stationed in Scotland's Faslane naval base that houses four Vanguard-class nuclear submarines. It is the only facility in the United Kingdom able to accommodate the country's nuclear deterrent.

Sturgeon was confronted by Scottish Liberal Democratic Party leader Willie Rennie in Sunday's televised debate over whether Trident's renewal fell under the list of issues that may trigger Scotland's second independence bid, following last September's failed attempt.

"The decision on whether there is ever another referendum is down to the Scottish people. I am not going to give a list because I cannot see into the future," Sturgeon replied.

SNP Deputy Leader Stewart Hosie told Sputnik that approximately three-quarters of Labour Party candidates opposed Trident, potentially putting them "in a position where there is actually a majority" to scrap the program in the next Parliament.

SNP stands for the removal of Trident from Scottish waters and spending the resultant money on health, education and childcare instead.

During the course of Sunday's contentious debate, Sturgeon also refused to impose a five-year moratorium on the independence referendum when asked to do so by Scottish Labour Party leader Jim Murphy.

Although the 650 seats in the UK House of Commons are largely up for grabs between the rival Conservative and Labour parties, in Scotland the SNP is projected to sweep all 59 seats allocated to the country.