Hidden away in the 650-page White Paper on Scottish Independence are a number of very interesting developments, none of which were championed by the SNP beforehand but every one of which has the potential to shape the campaign. Here are just a few of them:
1. A major move on nuclear weapons.
The SNP’s position on Trident and nuclear weapons is well known. An independent Scotland would kick Trident out of its current base on the Clyde and become a ‘non-nuclear’ state with only conventional armed forces. Also, Scotland would be so defiantly anti-nuclear that it would not let ships carrying nuclear weapons enter its water or its ports.
Oh really? What about this then? This is what it said in the White Paper:
‘While they are both strong advocates for nuclear disarmament, both Norway and Denmark allow NATO vessels to visit their ports without confirming or denying whether they carry nuclear weapons. “We intend that Scotland will adopt a similar approach as Denmark and Norway in this respect.
This is Scotland adopting a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ approach to nuclear weapons – hardly the same thing as being strongly anti-nuclear. It is quite an extraordinary move and it opens the possibility of an independent Scotland ejecting the UK’s Trident submarines but then letting them back in to refuelling, reloading or repairs — and using Faslane to do it.
The reason, of course, is the United States. American military sources have made it clear that they would resist Scotland’s entry to NATO without an assurance that they could continue to use Faslane for their own Trident submarines. This fudge would allow them to do so and probably smooths the way for Scotland’s entry to NATO too. However, what those vehemently anti-nuclear activists in the SNP think about it is another matter.
2. Scottish citizenship
It had been assumed that only those living in Scotland at the time of independence would become citizens of the new Scotland. It has now emerged that Scottish citizenship will be an awful lot wider than that.The White Paper reveals that anybody who was born in Scotland can become a Scottish citizen and have a Scottish passport.
Not only that, but all those with a Scottish parent or grandparent could become citizens of the new Scotland too.This would swell the potential number of Scots from the current 5.3 million by hundreds of thousands and possibly millions.
3. Sport and the Olympics.
Alex Salmond has long championed the prospect of a Scottish Olympic Team at the Rio Games in 2016. This is reiterated in the White Paper. However, there then follows an admission that the team might not be as strong as many Scots might hope. Those Scottish stars, like Andy Murray and Sir Chris Hoy, who have competed for Team GB at previous games might choose to stick with Team GB again. After all, they would be joint citizens of the remaining parts of the UK and Scotland and could choose which one to represent. The White Paper states, with admirable frankness:
‘Whilst the Scottish Government hopes that all athletes who are qualified to represent Scotland will do so, this is a personal decision.’
Liz Smith, from the Scottish Conservatives, responded by saying:
‘It is the athletes who are making the case for Team GB. They are the ones who say they prefer to represent GB, not least because of the world-class facilities on offer to them as members of Team GB. This puts a huge question mark over the strength of any potential Scottish Olympic team.’
Indeed, this again was not something Mr Salmond shouted too loudly about yesterday.
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