Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Labour Dig Themselves Deeper Into The Nuclear Hole

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Published on Friday, 26 February 2021 13:47

This week, in his speech to the UN about the climate emergency, David Attenborough said:

“Perhaps most significant lesson brought by these 12 months has been that we are no longer separate nations, each best served by looking after its own needs and security. We are a single global species whose greatest threats are shared and whose security must ultimately come from acting together, in the interests of us all.”

Compare this realism with the latest line from UK Labour and its shadow defence secretary John Healey, that Labour's support for keeping the UK's nuclear weapons is "non-negotiable". This is a switch from the tone of recent times in which the issue might have only arisen when the question was asked. In contrast Healey's pitch is proactive – it's aim is to prove beyond doubt Labour's virility - a macho commitment to establish beyond question its readiness to put aside all squeamishness in regard to preparations for the slaughter of vast numbers of innocent civilians. And where is Scottish Labour in all this?

It is utterly depressing that in the UK both the governing party and the official opposition are digging themselves ever deeper into a backward and ignorant hole. The threats we face are of such a nature that the choice facing us is peaceful global collaboration or global ruin. UK policy is indeed to amplify and refine one of these threats – the risk of catastrophic nuclear war. Against such rank stupidity stands the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – the call of the world for the complete elimination of that risk.

Challenging NATO

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Published on Sunday, 21 February 2021 11:34

Important reading. NATO WATCH has published Peace research perspectives on NATO 2030: A response to the official NATO Reflection Group – a collection of essays from a group of leading peace researchers, academics and civil society practitioners, among them Ray Acheson, Martin Butcher and Paul Ingram.

In his introductory essay Ian Davis says:

“This direction of travel is hardly surprising given that the ten experts that wrote the NATO report represent what might broadly be described as the so-called realist paradigm: a worldview that emphasises the role of the state, national interest and military power in world politics.”

and

“In contrast to the NATO report, the essays in this volume are written by a group of leading peace researchers, academics and civil society practitioners who broadly fall within a human security paradigm: a worldview in which the focus shifts from the state to a ‘human–centric’ vision.”

It is of course this human-centric vision that has led to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which has subverted the convention security approach of the nuclear-armed states and put in place instead a focus on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons in the past, present and future alongside a realistic response to the appalling and ever-present risks of so-called “deterrence”.

It should now be obvious to all that the selfish interests of a nation or a block of nations backed by military power has nothing to offer in response to the breath-taking challenges facing the whole planet. We have to wise up, and quickly.

What's happening in 2021

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Published on Sunday, 07 February 2021 18:05

2021 is a pivotal year for the nuclear disarmament campaign, and we want to make it as easy as possible for our members and supporters to get involved. To find out more about what's happening, and how you can be part of it, listen back to our Year Ahead presentation here:

Download the slides and transcript here (or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you'd like a copy, or need a more accessible version than this). And please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have ideas or suggestions, or would like to get involved!

Dr Strangelove is Alive and Well

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Published on Wednesday, 03 February 2021 13:37

The Washington Post reports that one Charles Richard, the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command (AKA Nuclear Strike Force) has just said:

“There is a real possibility that a regional crisis with Russia or China could escalate quickly to a conflict involving nuclear weapons, if they perceived a conventional loss would threaten the regime or state. . . The Pentagon must shift from a principal assumption that nuclear weapons’ use is nearly impossible to nuclear employment is a very real possibility”

It is fairly clear that the main target of this unhinged outburst is the new man in the White House. Biden will be considering what they call the “nuclear posture” and the Pentagon will want to apply as much direct and indirect pressure as possible to ensure that the US modernisation surge initiated by Obama continues unhindered. The positive moves on the START treaty will worry them. The generals will also be aware of the the new factor in the mix – the entry into force last month of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – and the possibility that Biden may take into account that blow to the global reputational status of nuclear weapons. And the Washington Post offers nothing to counter the claim about Russian and China aggression.

There are of course other audiences for this irresponsible bluster in the rival nuclear-armed states, including parallel generals with similarly dangerous delusions. This is how wars begin. Like the infantile macho face-to-face of prizefighters it is all about escalation after escalation until no-one knows how to put the brakes on and we are all in the ditch.

This is the essence of so-called deterrence doctrine. It is a permanently unstable stance on a slippery slope to catastrophe. It is the readiness to commit the most appalling war crimes. And for us mere voters in the governmental game, if you back a party or a candidate who approves the foul doctrine, you are playing your own little part for inhumanity.

Beyond Nuclear Conference

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Published on Monday, 11 January 2021 15:47

Beyond Nuclear was designed to answer the question: ‘Why would we in Scotland want or need to have nuclear power stations when we have almost unlimited potential for clean, renewable energy production?’ The conference will therefore be a day of two halves, starting off with an examination of the negatives involved in nuclear power production in the first session, contrasting with the positives of clean renewable energy in the second.

Planned for Mar 2020, then postponed till Oct 2020, we are pleased to announce that Beyond Nuclear will now be a Cameron Virtual Conference!