Analysis: Westminster ups the nuclear ante and gets First Minister all hot under the collar

Published on Monday 27 April 2009 22:52

IF THERE is one part of Scotland which really grates with Alex Salmond, it is Faslane. The nuclear submarine base on the Clyde is not only a perpetual reminder of Britain's nuclear deterrent, to which the SNP is fundamentally opposed, but it also provides a concrete example of the strict limits of the Scottish Government's power.

The SNP administration does not want nuclear weapons, it does not believe the country needs them and it is irked by the simple fact that the UK's nuclear deterrent is based in Scotland – against the will of the Scottish Government.

The real target for the SNP has always been the Vanguard Trident submarines, which carry the UK's nuclear deterrent, but ministers will not like the presence of the nuclear-powered Trafalgar-class submarines either, particularly after the recent leaks of radioactive material into the waters around Faslane.

There has been much theoretical discussion about Faslane's future in an independent Scotland. Where would the nuclear subs go? What would happen to Faslane?

But now the UK government has responded in resounding and dramatic style. The Ministry of Defence's decision to phase out Devonport as a submarine base and concentrate everything on Faslane sends out the simple message: The base at Faslane is going nowhere.

In one simple move, the UK government has made it clear it is taking no precautions against Scotland becoming independent. It will base its entire submarine fleet on the Clyde, regardless of anything the SNP or anybody else says about it, and it sees no threat from the rhetoric of the SNP or its desire to hold an independence referendum.

Politically, the message is equally potent. Labour holds the seats around Faslane, so it is in its interests to secure employment there and use its patronage to create more work and invest more in the area. But it goes further than that.

The Labour government in Westminster is pointing out to the SNP Scottish Government that it has no control over what goes on at Faslane. Labour is going to build the base up in terms of jobs and infrastructure and challenge the SNP to rail against it.

This decision also represents a wielding of power by an administration which has it, with the Scottish Government powerless to reverse the decision.

Mr Salmond has convened a number of "Trident summits", bringing together the anti-nuclear lobby to try to find ways of challenging the presence of Trident submarines on the Clyde.

However, all that talk has delivered nothing in real terms while, by taking the decision that it has, the UK government has snubbed the SNP administration in one easy move.