Trident Debacle Points the way to Independence

I'm sorry to be harping on about the nuclear weapons issue yet again (actually I am not that sorry really, it's my blog so I get to write about what I want to write about!) but yesterday's vote in the House of Commons was one of the clearest indications we have ever had as to why we need independence for Scotland.

There was in fact a clear majority in favour of the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system yesterday. The vote in the House of Commons was in fact 409 to 161 in favour. However a closer analysis of this vote tells us a number of things.

Firstly, Tony Blair had to rely on the Tory benches to ensure victory for his government's argument that Trident should be renewed. That has got to be an uncomfortable prospect for any administration when it was the opposition "wot won it" for you. If the massed ranks of Conservatism (by that I mean the official Conservatives in the House, the massed ranks of small "c" conservatism extend way beyond their benches) had not supported Blair then Trident renewal would be as dead as the proverbial Dodo.

Secondly, and this is the crucial aspect of analysis for a Scottish perspective - a majority of Scottish MPs of all persuasions voted against Trident renewal. This indicates that the democratic will of Scotland's representatives at Westminster was at odds with that of the majority. In essence, Scotland opposed Trident. To that end, the fifteen Scottish Labour rebels who sided with the SNP and Liberal Democrats are to be commended.

However this indicates the very essence of the problem with Scotland remaining an integral part of the British state. Even when our political will is exercised in one direction if the rest of the political class from the rest of the UK exercise it in another, then we are overruled. In effect this means that the Trident system will be renewed and we Jocks can like it or lump it (and with it being reported that fully three quarters of Scots oppose nuclear weapons it seems we will have to lump it).

There is a perfectly and eminently sensible solution at hand though. And that is for Scotland to establish itself as a fully sovereign and independent nation state so that when we disagree with the political opinion expressed in London, as happened yesterday, then we are empowered to disagree. Whilst our representation remains a mere 59 out of 646 members of the Westminster Parliament then the potential to have policy dictated to us will always remain and all talk of Scotland being an "equal partner" in the United Kingdom are demonstrated to be the fallacy that they are.

If we were independent then we could actually reject these abhorrent weapons of mass destruction.

That should be where I leave this posting, as it nicely rounds off my arguments, but I cannot help but mention that Rosemary McKenna, the MP covering Cumbernauld and Kilsyth voted for nuclear weapons yesterday. I can't help but wonder what people there will think of their MP supporting the use of some £76billion-£100billion of their money on this scheme instead of on schools, hospitals, pensions and so on. I also cannot help but wonder whether my Labour opponent and Rosemary's colleague Cathie Craigie agrees with this astonishing waste of money as well. Maybe she will read this and let us know.