SNP MSPs urge new members to join CND

SNP MSPs have urged the party’s tens of thousands of new members to join the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).

Former SNP leader Alex Salmond leads a CND-organised protest march thorugh Edinburgh in March 2010. Picture: Jane Barlow

Christina McKelvie, Bill Kidd and Christian Allard are relauching SNP CND at a one-day conference in Glasgow today with a call to their 93,000 fellow members to oppose nuclear weapons in Scotland.

The SNP lost three MSPs after giving its support to nuclear armed military alliance Nato before the referendum in a highly contested policy u-turn - but it remains committed to removing nuclear weapons from Scotland.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Mr Kidd - co-president of the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament - said: “Having attended nuclear disarmament conferences around the world, I know just how inspiring our friends and neighbours find the SNP and the Scottish Government’s principled position on nuclear weapons - and how out of touch Westminster’s position is on the international stage.

“The idea that Westminster think it is acceptable to base these weapons of mass destruction just thirty miles from Scotland’s largest population centre is ludicrous.

“The people of Glasgow, and of Scotland as a whole, have made their opinions clear - we do not want these immoral weapons based on the River Clyde.

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“A strong SNP vote in May will send a clear message to Westminster that we simply will not accept a new generation of these weapons and will reaffirm Scotland’s commitment to nuclear disarmament to our international colleagues.”

Ms McKelvie said: “The general election in May is a real opportunity for the people of Scotland to force the Westminster establishment into a rethink on their ludicrous obsession with nuclear weapons.

“At a time when more and more children are being forced into poverty by Westminster’s austerity cuts and the number of people having to rely on foodbanks is rocketing - for the UK Government to even consider spending £100 billion on weapons of mass destruction is nothing less than a moral and economic disgrace.

“That the Labour Party under Jim Murphy support this spending - at the same time as trooping through the lobbies with the Tories to vote for more austerity - shows exactly where their priorities lie and confirms that their toxic alliance with the Tories is continuing in the aftermath of the referendum.

“With a strong team of SNP MPs, Scotland can hold the balance of power and can force Westminster to abandon this disastrous commitment and ensure these immoral weapons are removed from Scotland for good.”

Mr Allard added: “There has always been a strong working relationship between the SNP and the Scottish CND, and the SNP CND conference is an excellent way to bring people together to focus on the goal of forcing Westminster to abandon these weapons of mass destruction.

“With membership now standing at more than 93,000 the SNP is the strongest vehicle for progressive change in UK politics and I hope that all of these new members will join with SNP CND in the fight against these immoral weapons.”

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