Trident poll by Lord Ashcroft

Details

Published on Friday, 10 May 2013 15:32

A new poll by Lord Ashcroft claims that only 34% of Scots want to give up nuclear weapons.

“The results contradict Scottish CND poll and other public research and the Coalition’s austerity drive is increasing opposition to replacing Trident as people think the money will be better spent elsewhere.” Arthur West - chairman of Scottish CND

According to this poll:

- 48% of the respondents oppose UK having nuclear weapons and only 37% support it;

- only 20% of the respondents agreed with the curent proposal which is to replace Trident with an equally powerful system;

- 50% were opposed to lease out Faslane to the rest of the UK, if Scotland was independent, and only 35% supported this.

Scottish CND poll, run by TNS in March 2013 revealed that 80% of those who expressed a definite opinion about Trident are against its replacement and we are extremely confident that these results are accurately reflecting Scots’ opinions.

Click here if you wish to see the motion lodged by Bill Kidd with regards to this poll.

Motion lodged in the Scottish Parliament - French Nuclear Missile Test Failure

Details

Published on Tuesday, 07 May 2013 14:13

                                                                                             Yesterday the French Navy tested a strategic missile of the new generation M51 (launched from the submarine "Le Triomphant"). The test was a failure and the missile was destroyed briefly after its launch.  

http://tinyurl.com/French-Nuclear-Missile-Failure

In response, Bill Kidd MSP lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament.

Motion Number: S4M-06488
Date Lodged: 07/05/2013
Title: Nuclear Missile Test Failure

Motion Text:

That the Parliament notes with concern the news of the French Navy’s failed test of a M51 missile in the Bay of Audierne, off the coast of Brittany; understands that the missile malfunctioned during a test launch on 5 May 2013 and had to be destroyed while in flight; further understands that the M51, a missile designed for submarines, is 12 metres long, weighs 56 tons and has the capacity to carry nuclear warheads that are 60 to 80 times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945; is relieved that there were no casualties as a result of this failed test and that the missile was not carrying nuclear warheads at the time; believes, however, that this malfunction serves as a reminder of the tens of thousands of nuclear weapons that it believes are held in the arsenals of nine countries that rely on technology that it considers continues to be proven fallible; is concerned that this incident was not reported more widely, especially as the consequences of such a malfunction of a missile with nuclear warheads in the same vicinity would have had a devastating impact on the nearby shores of England and many other bordering areas, and calls on the UK media to provide appropriate coverage of such events to make the public aware of the risks faced in allowing nuclear technologies to be pursued.