It’s been a busy month for Scottish CND so far, and we’re looking ahead at some major events during the remainder of the year.
Here’s a summary of our recent campaigning and our upcoming plans!
Scottish CND attended STUC 2025 in Dundee at the end of April, holding a stall with Peace Education Scotland to promote our fringe event about the role of the trade union movement in response to the UK government’s rampant militarism.
Isobel Lindsay chaired the lively meeting on renewing the case against nuclear weapons in a moment of renewed global instability internationally and continuing austerity domestically.
Andrea Bradley (General Secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland) and Gordon Martin (Scottish Regional Organiser for the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union) were the lead union speakers, with a message of support from new RMT UK General Secretary Eddie Dempsey.
They were joined by Common Weal’s Head of Policy Craig Dalzell and economist Professor Robbie Mochrie (Heriot Watt University) to talk about the cost of Trident to Scotland and the economy as a whole.
Representatives of ten different trade unions were present at the meeting, and we intend to use the contacts made to build trade union support for our major Glasgow event on 1st November 2025. We will be publicising the full video of the speeches made at the STUC fringe event on our YouTube Channel soon!
In line with our making the case in favour of a peace economy at the STUC, Scottish CND also joined Stop the War Scotland in the launch of their “Welfare Not Warfare” campaign in Glasgow City Centre on the 10th of May:
They were joined by Common Weal’s Head of Policy Craig Dalzell and economist Professor Robbie Mochrie (Heriot Watt University) to talk about the cost of Trident to Scotland and the economy as a whole.
Representatives of ten different trade unions were present at the meeting, and we intend to use the contacts made to build trade union support for our major Glasgow event on 1st November 2025. We will be publicising the full video of the speeches made at the STUC fringe event on our YouTube Channel soon!
In line with our making the case in favour of a peace economy at the STUC, Scottish CND also joined Stop the War Scotland in the launch of their “Welfare Not Warfare” campaign in Glasgow City Centre on the 10th of May:
There were many speakers at the “Welfare Not Warfare” launch, including several prominent figures in the trade union movement as well as leaders from the anti-war and anti-austerity movements.
Andrew Murray of Stop The War UK spoke in strong terms against the UK’s deep complicity in the ongoing Gaza genocide, underlining the case that the increased military budget often goes not towards “defence” but indeed may even be funding war crimes. Isobel Lindsay, SCND Vice-Chair, spoke about the the UK’s dependence for US assent for it’s nuclear weapons programme and how tightly this ties the UK’s foreign policy to the White House.
There is more work to do to build the Welfare Not Warfare campaign, and to send the message to our leaders that cutting state support for the most vulnerable in order to drop bombs abroad, like in Yemen, is unacceptable. Keep an eye on the Stop The War website and social media for updates on demonstrations and other campaign events!
Most recently, Scottish CND hosted a hustings in Hamilton in advance of the Scottish Parliamentary by-election in that constituency on June 5th. The SSP, Conservatives, SNP and Greens were represented on the panel, Candidates from other major parties did not accept our repeated invitations to the event.
There was a lively debate on the issues of nuclear power, nuclear weapons and also local government cuts. Our intention was to connect the issue of the exorbitant expenditures being currently committed to nuclear weapons and power to local government services being shorn to the bone with year after year of austerity budgets. Constituents expressed disappointment that candidates from Labour and Reform did not have the courtesy to attend or organise substitutes.
Nevertheless, the opportunity for in-person debate on pressing national and local issues was worthwhile, and SCND intend to organise similar events in the run-up to the Scottish elections in 2026.
Turning our upcoming events, we would like to notify our followers and supporters of a soon to be announced event, to commemorate the momentous 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima & Nagasaki atomic bombings.
Along with nationwide vigils organised by our local groups, Scottish CND will be hosting a commemorative event in August looking at the legacy of the nuclear scourge since 1945, as well as supporting other events at the time of the anniversaries. Keep an eye on our social media and this regular newsletter for updates on the August commemoration!
80 years on from the first, calamitous nuclear bombing, nuclear powers are in conflict across the globe. Now more than ever is the time to raise our voice in memory of the hibakusha nuclear victims, and in rejection of the insane “deterrence” doctrine and the appalling waste of money that is nuclear weapons.
As ever, thank you for your support and commitment to the cause.
In peace,
Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament