Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

SNPCND Roadmap to Nuclear Disarmament

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Published on Monday, 01 July 2019 01:16

SNPCND put forward a Roadmap to Nuclear Disarmament resolution at the SNP Spring Conference in April 2019. It was passed unanimously.

•       Conference welcomes the continued support for nuclear disarmament and, with the impending inevitability of independence, we need to set out a clear timetable for removal of nuclear weapons from Scottish soil and waters.

•       Conference believes that we need a practical description of the process and timescale to safely remove nuclear weapons at the very earliest opportunity on Scotland regaining our independence.

•       Conference therefore agrees that we should develop a credible road map that has at its end point the removal of the Royal Navy’s nuclear armed and nuclear-powered submarine fleets from Scottish soil and the repurposing of related support bases on Scottish soil.

•       Conference calls on the Scottish Government to work with the STUC to undertake a diversification study that will set out the positive contribution the skilled workers of Faslane and Coulport can make to the Scottish Defence sector free of nuclear weapons.

The SNPCND committee will consult with Scottish CND and the Scottish Trades Union Council and will work with the SNP Policy Development Committees to ensure the Roadmap is progressed. This is a very positive commitment from the SNP to take action to disarm on independence.

Raytheon and Lockheed Martin bidding for Faslane training contract

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Published on Monday, 24 June 2019 10:58

 According to recent reports US arms companies linked to alleged war crimes in Yemen are in the running for a Ministry of Defence contract that will involve training Royal Navy recruits at the home of Britain's nuclear weapons.

RIP Jim Taggart from Brian Quail and Scottish CND

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Published on Tuesday, 18 June 2019 10:28

Dr Jim Taggart was a hands-on and hard-working officer on Scottish CND's executive committee for many years. He was a well-regarded member of CND UK's Council, travelling to London for meetings regularly, and an integral part of Helensburgh CND and immensely practical supporter of the Peace Camp.

Jim’s funeral is on Saturday 6th July, at 10:30am in Craigrownie Parish Church, Cove Burgh Hall, Shore Road, Cove, near Helensburgh G84 0LY

The service will be followed by burial at the Barbour Cemetery and then refreshments by the Green Kettle will be served in the Gibson Hall, Garelochhead G84 0AT

Many years ago when Trident Ploughshares first started I stayed in Jim's house at Cove. He took me on a tour of Linn Gardens, which had been a barren wilderness before Jim transformed it into the wonderful place it became. They even made a TV programme about it.

Whenever I go to that hellish place, the North Gate at Faslane, I see the tourist signpost at the roundabout indicating the way onward to Linn Gardens. The mere sign of this always gives me a brief fluttering of hope, which is otherwise drained from me by the unalloyed evil that is the base.

Jim's gardening genius was integral to his dedication to peace. His making of a garden was the re-making of our primary home, our Eden. A myth is not a lie, but a primal truth told in a tale. Our pride and arrogance drove us into exile from Eden, our garden home. Basically, we are all trying to get back home. And a garden is the nearest place to heaven on Earth.

The last time I saw Jim, it was in the Clyde Bar, at a Helensburgh CND meeting. Jim was ensconced in the corner with the campers and CND'ers around his - Gandalf with the Hobbits. This was not long after he had received the terrible news that his son Jamie had been found dead in Vietnam. The worst news any parent could get. Some people are destroyed by grief, others grow stronger, and are thus ennobled. I admired Jim then more than ever.

It was not all sweetness and harmony; Jim was old-school Brit left, and had no sympathy for Scottish independence. But then, neither did Alan MacKinnon - and he was a giant in the peace movement. To use that most boring cliche, CND is a broad church.

Jim was exceptionally active in Scottish CND locally and on the Executive, for many years. His dedication and untiring efforts will be sorely missed by all who yearn for peace and justice.

The Global Net - Stop the Arms Trade

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Published on Wednesday, 20 March 2019 13:45

Stephan and Magdalena from the Arms Information Centre (RIB) visited Scotland in early March 2019 to introduce us to Global Net - Stop the Arms Trade 

Their mission was to remind us that International cooperation is essential if we are to limit the harms of arms trade - arms manufacturers often have operations that are global; they manoeuvre to avoid national restrictions,  sometimes exporting whole factories to bypass national laws or make their legal entity to avoid reparations required by international law. National laws often make it very difficult for victims of weapons to receive any compensation. For example, a Somalian soldier who lost a leg and could identify the rifle as made in Germany would have to be in Germany to seek legal redress - you cannot file a complaint without being on German soil. They are making public, visible detailed case studies on arms manufacturers and the arms they cause on the Global Net website.

60 Years of Scottish CND

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Published on Monday, 10 December 2018 14:45

Scotland's Nae Place for Nuclear Weapons as Campaigners Celebrate 60 years of CND - an article published in the Daily Record this week provides a snapshot into Scotland: A Peace of History which launches this Saturday 15th December at the Mitchell Library from 12:30pm. 

All welcome and refreshments will be provided. 

Read the article here: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotland-now/scotlands-nae-place-nuclear-weapons-13701677

Scottish CND AGM 2018

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Published on Tuesday, 04 December 2018 13:27

Stop Funding the End of the World - DBOTBS

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Published on Friday, 30 November 2018 11:26

Stop Funding the End of the World - A Guide to Nuclear Weapons Divestment in Scotland was created by Don't Bank on the Bomb Scotland, a network of individuals campaigning for Scottish organisations and financial institutions to divest from companies that are involved in the production and maintenance of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems. 

Scottish CND Push for Transparency after 505 safety incidents revealed at Faslane

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Published on Monday, 19 November 2018 15:49

Scottish CND push for transparency around the Annual Nuclear Safety Reports from the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator which have recently been censored by the Ministry of Defence.

The Ferret (an independent non-profit media cooperative in Scotland) published a letter from Stuart Andrew, defence minister yesterday revealing 505 safety incidents at the Faslane naval base in the last 12 years (over 200 in the last four years). Many of these incidents involved the Trident submarines which carry Britain's nuclear weapons. 

The article states that 23 incidents were catergorised as having a 'high potential' for leaking radioactivity into the environment or within a submarine or building. Some 148 incidents were said to have a 'moderate potential for future release or exposure'. 

Scotland: A Peace of History

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Published on Thursday, 04 October 2018 14:21

We invite you to celebrate with us!

2018 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the formation of the Scottish ‘Council’ for Nuclear Disarmament. We want to use the occasion to showcase and celebrate our history, whilst also looking to our future. To this end, we are creating a timeline of important actions and events, both from within and out with our movement, spanning over eighty years! We have gratefully received funding from the National Lottery’s Heritage Lottery Fund for the timeline project. We hope the final results will be nostalgic, inspiring, and educational.

Launch Event

Sat 15 Dec 2018 12-4pm Mitchell Library, Glasgow

• 12:30pm - Informal opening ceremony with some brief speeches and some music
• 1:00pm - 4:00pm - An opportunity to view the exhibition which celebrates the 60th anniversary of Scottish CND.

Scottish CND members, supporters and people from the wider Scottish Peace Movement are very welcome to attend the opening and view the exhibition on Saturday 15th December 2018. More information can be found on the Facebook event.