Speaking in today’s members debate in the Scottish Parliament about the establishment of a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone covering Scotland the motion’s proposer, Glasgow SNP MSP Bill Kidd, called for individual communities and organisations to become Nuclear Weapons-Free Zones (NWFZ), spreading across Scotland.

The debate will draw upon similar initiatives around the world which have relied upon a groundswell of public support to promote nuclear weapon free zones culminating in states declaring themselves Nuclear Weapons-Free Zones (NWFZ).

Speaking in today’s debate Bill Kidd Member of the Scottish Parliament and a Member of the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament said: "The Scottish people have repeatedly signaled their opposition to the stationing of nuclear weapons on Scottish soil and the transportation of nuclear weapons across the country. The Scottish Parliament has previously signaled its opposition to nuclear weapons.

"Yet we still have the UK’s nuclear arsenal stationed on our soil and I believe it is time that we took direct action as individuals and communities to say that enough is enough.

"By drawing inspiration from other countries around the world we can join the majority of the world in declaring ourselves a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone."

Notes:

1. Mr Kidd’s motion as follows:

S3M-07072# Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (Scottish National Party): Scotland’s Nuclear Weapons-free Zones—
That the Parliament believes that New Zealand has set a good example with the establishment of a succession of nuclear weapons-free zones; would welcome the establishment of such zones in Scotland in homes, classrooms, places of work, communities, local authorities and in the environs of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, with the aim to register Scotland as a single-state nuclear weapons-free zone with the United Nations, and would further welcome the development of a protocol for Scotland requesting that the nuclear weapons states honour such a zone by not deploying nuclear weapons on Scottish territory and by guaranteeing not to threaten or use nuclear weapons against Scotland.

Supported by: Dr Alasdair Allan, Elaine Smith, Michael Matheson, Aileen Campbell, Joe FitzPatrick, Sandra White, Gil Paterson, Rob Gibson, Christina McKelvie, Dr Christopher Harvie, Angela Constance, Robin Harper, Anne McLaughlin, Dave Thompson, Jamie Hepburn, Linda Fabiani, Stewart Maxwell, Patrick Harvie, Stuart McMillan

Lodged on Thursday, September 23, 2010; Current

2. Today NWFZs cover more than half of the planet including South America and more recently Africa with 60% of the world’s 193 states signed up to NWFZs.

Other states which are declared nuclear powers such as the United States and the United Kingdom are coming under increased internal pressure to establish NWFZs. Cities such as Takoma Park in Maryland have established themselves as NWFZs and as such cannot hold contracts with any company associated with any aspect of nuclear weapons. In The UK Manchester declared itself Nuclear Weapons-Free in 1980 and Wales became Nuclear Free two years later.

Opposition to nuclear weapons in Scotland has always been strong; however despite strong public opposition the UK Government uses Scotland as its main nuclear weapon submarine base and of course wished to use Scotland as a A-Bomb testing site as revealed at the Royal Australian Commission’s London hearings into the UK’s atomic bomb tests in the Australian desert in the 1950’s.

At the time Wick in Caithness, Scotland was considered to be an ideal place to test the UK’s Atomic bombs but after representations from the ‘Father’ of the UK’s A-Bomb Lord Penney was deemed to be ‘too wet’ and the tests were relocated to Australia.