The Kingdom of Scotland became independent in the early Middle Ages and continued as a sovereign nation until 1707 when it joined the Kingdom of England in the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1801 the Kingdom of Great Britain formed a political union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, better known today as the United Kingdom (U.K.).
Scotland has maintained a separate legal system as well as separate educational and religions institutions to the present day. After a referendum in 1997, the Scottish Parliament reconvened with authority over many internal affairs. There are six members of the European Parliament currently representing Scotland. In 2011, the Scottish National Party (SNP) which is pushing for full Scottish independence gained a majority in the Scottish Parliament. A referendum on Scottish independence is scheduled to be held in September of 2014.
With the referendum coming in six months, there is still a lot of confusion and questions about exactly how such independence will impact everything from television channels to complex defense issues. While the answers to many of the questions could impact whether Scottish voters choose to remain part of the United Kingdom or strike out on their own with full independence, the only question on the ballot will be "Should Scotland be an independent country? Yes / No.” The details are to be worked out after the vote if independence wins the day.
The SNP has outlined its vision of an independent Scotland in "Scotland's Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland." In this paper, the SNP commits to a constitutional ban on nuclear weapons in Scotland. The entire U.K. ballistic missile submarine fleet is stationed at Clyde just north of Glasgow, Scotland. The SNP promises to see that all the submarines are removed during the first session of an independent Scottish Parliament. The SNP has always had a firm stance against nuclear weapons.
The U.K. government has not carried out any contingency planning for the removal of the submarine fleet from Scotland. The official stance is that to carry out such planning prior to the referendum would be tacit support for the idea of an independent Scotland. Although the polls are very close on the question of independence, the U.K. government maintains that it is confident that a majority of the Scottish voters will not support an independent Scotland. U.K. government will not even begin any planning for moving the fleet unless the September referendum chooses independence.
Moving the U.K. ballistic missiles submarine fleet would cost millions of British pounds and take years, maybe even decades. Some critics of any such move point out that political resistance might make it impossible to find any other area in the U.K. that would be willing and able to house the submarine fleet. There are those who say that if Scotland votes for independence, the popular sentiment against nuclear weapons in the U.K. might result in de facto unilateral nuclear disarmament.
The SNP has said that the issue of nuclear submarine removal from Clyde is a "red line" issue that is non-negotiable. Some commentators have suggested that in the complex set of issues that would have to be negotiated for Scottish independence, nuclear fleet removal might be downgraded to a "bargaining chip" by the SNP.
The U.S. position on U.K. nuclear weapons is that they are an important part of the "special relationship" between the U.S. and the U.K. So far, the media in the U.S. has not paid much attention to the coming referendum vote in Scotland. If they vote for independence, the U.S. will definitely have to take notice.
Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde:
